Foreign Minister Joins Icelandic-American Celebration

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson was among the guests at this year’s “August The Deuce” festival in Mountain, North Dakota, which celebrates the Icelandic heritage of the village.

MBL reports that Gunnar Bragi was given a small tour of the area, visiting a memorial to poet Stephan G. Stephanson and the site of the Thingvalla Icelandic Lutheran Church, which burned to the ground in 2003.

For the unfamiliar, August The Deuce is a festival held in Mountain, North Dakota every year, and is organised by the Icelandic Communities Association. The cultural impact of Icelandic immigrants who settled here in the late 19th century is celebrated, replete with a parade, street dance and tractor pull.

Things reportedly went more smoothly than they did in 2012, when mayor Tim Moore ended up involved in a brawl that brought police to the scene.

In 2007, then Prime Minister (and newly appointed ambassador) Geir H. Haarde was among the guests at the celebration.