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VIDEO: Celebrating 100 Years of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival

Dozens of Northfield Historical Society and St. Olaf College supporters packed the museum for the unveiling and participated in some singing of their own. They sang traditional Christmas music in English, German and Norwegian.

The on Thursday evening opened its newest exhibit, Celebrating 100 Years of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival.

Dozens of historical society and supporters packed the museum for the unveiling and participated in some singing of their own. They sang traditional Christmas music in English, German and Norwegian.

The exhibit takes a comprehensive look at the history of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival as seen through the eyes of Northfield residents, including St. Olaf faculty and staff. Video interviews with locals who were associated in various ways with the festival, some 170 images from the past century, and video and sound recordings are on display.

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Museum visitors will be able to track how the event has changed from its quiet inauguration in 1912 to the first national PBS TV broadcasts in the 1970s to the groundbreaking nationwide live simulcast to movie theaters in 2007. Today, the four annual performances by 500 student musicians attract an audience of 12,000.

Learn more about this year’s Christmas Festival and national Dec. 4 simulcast at St. Olaf's website.

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The exhibit runs through mid-January, but Hayes Scriven, executive director of the NHS, said it could be extended if the demand is there.


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