Fika(s) Fest: A Multimedia Experience of Scandinavian and Nordic Culture
Fika Festival brings in different Nordic cultural elements to Montreal
Fika, pronounced like “fee-ca” is the art of eating coffee and cakes. But really, the Swedish word “fika” is much more than food. It is a social event where people get the chance to mingle, talk, and have a break from the world of work. It is an integral part of Swedish culture and has become a widespread tradition in many Nordic countries, with special sweets being attributed to Fika, such as kanelbullar (cinnamon rolls), princesstårta (princess cake – a marzipan and raspberry puree vanilla cake with almond sugar icing) and most importantly, the 7 semi-holy cookies of Fika, which are a staple to any group of family or friends.
The 7 cookies of Fika have become a staple of Swedish culture.
Being so integral to Swedish culture, it became the natural choice for a festival celebrating Nordic countries to be called the Fika(s) Festival. Currently in its 5th edition, this Montreal festival has set the stage for various artists, from merchants to choirs to filmmakers. These incredible artists are usually either Scandinavian or locals using Nordic countries as inspiration for their art. The events of the festival happen in different theaters and artistic venues in the city.
But before we delve into the different ateliers and events, I would like to shine a light on the differences between Nordic and Scandinavian countries. Scandi countries, composed of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, share a similar language, with roots of Germanic and Norse languages. Their cultures are very similar since the borders between these countries were ever changing and often were part of the same kingdoms. On the other hand, Nordic countries are a larger group including Scandinavia and all the most northern European countries: Finland, Iceland, Faroe Island, Greenland, and Åland.
In the Monument National, a beautiful market featured Nordic inspired clothes, decoration, and household items, all made by local artisans. In the same vintage theater on Sunday March 16, the Swedish Choir of Montreal presented a medley of songs from the Melodifestivalen, an iconic Swedish festival that determines the artist representing Sweden at Eurovision. They even made the crowd learn some lyrics and sing with them (although the pronunciation confused the crowd, it also brought everyone together in a true fika fashion!)
The Swedish Choir of Montreal performing a classic Melodifestivalen/Swedish song with the crowd singing along.
Another event was the screening of “Tove” at the Italian cinema in little Italy. To a crowd of 20 people, the life of the artist behind the “Moomin Trollen” was brought to life. The cold and serene Finish landscape, with lonely streets and silver church bells, little theatres, bombed-out buildings filled with flowers blooming anew, and warm candlelit apartments lighting up the dark sky, played an integral role in building the narrative around Tove.
Indeed, the rich culture of her country and the tall green trees became the backbone of her little works of art that would come to be the most popular children’s book in Finland, but also found a following around the world. The movie shows her mature as an artist and a person, when she finds love and begins to appreciate the characters she has created. The many smoking breaks under a lamp post in a desolate street, a bottle of vodka to accompany her artistry or sexual encounters, and the overall relaxed slow pace of the movie might be considered boring by many, but nevertheless reflect the time, the culture and her art.
Tove is an indie Swedish-Finish collaboration movie currently available on Amazon Prime.
Though I have only mentioned the festival events I participated in, there were countless others, such as a performance by DJ JJ Paulo from Denmark or book reading sessions about characters in Scandinavia. I thoroughly enjoyed this festival because it brought together people from many different cultures and allowed them to learn more about Scandi and Nordic culture, and support local artists.
This also hit close to home as a Swede, and I enjoyed hearing people try to pronounce words with “ä”, “ö” and “å”s, and converse with the Swedish and Norwegian communities in our language.
Don’t miss out on the 6th edition of the festival happening in March 2025!
Tack! Takk! Tak! Kiitos! Tahk! Quajanaq!
Find all the information about the festival and its previous and upcoming events on the website: https://www.fikasfest.com/
