Established May 13, 1967
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Meetings
6:00 pm
1st Thursday - Monthly
--- June and July - social activities
Portola Community Center
45-480 Portola Ave.
Palm Desert, CA 92260
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Contact Us:
----- 335 N Wateka St.
----- San Jacinto, CA 92583
----- 951-654-8396
[email protected] or [email protected]
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Välkommen and thank you for looking us up. We are the local lodge serving the Coachella Valley and the Inland Empire. For a bit of history, Vasa Order of America was originally established for the benefit of Swedish immigrants more than a century ago; today we are dedicated to preserving and sharing our Swedish and Nordic culture and heritage.
To learn more about us, explore the Departments
in the left sidebar to find out more about our calendar of events, our activities. Follow the Links in the right sidebar to explore the structure or purpose of the Vasa Order of America, and view activities of other local lodges.
While many of us are American-Swedish decent, we encourage the Swedes in the Coachella Valley and Inland Empire to come and share your experiences of living in Sweden and your visits abroad. At our meetings we hold culture programs that are informative.
You are not required to be a member to attend our meetings and social functions and we encourage you to visit us. Some of our annual calendar events include:
--- Spring - Scandinavian Business Expo
--- Genealogy Workshop
--- May - Lodge Anniversary Celebration
--- June - Sweden National Day
--- Fall - Genealogy Workshop
--- September - Welcome Back Festivities
--- November - All Saints Day
--- December - Lucia Celebration
We hold open enrollment on an annual basis and membership is available starting at age 14 to those of Nordic roots, (Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish or Icelandic), husbands and wives, and also those who would like to support our group and learn about our culture.
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Membership:
$55 Couple
$30 Individual
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Some of our members and past members:
--- Troy Bankord - Allt för Sverige cast member
--- Pernilla Linner - Silversmith Jewelry Hand made
--- Lauren Lunstrum - Nordic Wonders proprietor - http://nordicwonders.com/
--- John Ostrom - Radio Personality/Voice Over Talent
--- Ralph Watt - Palm Springs High School Educator
--- Ellen Bergstone - Palm Springs High School Educator
Benefits of becoming a member includes the opportunity to participate in scholarship offerings that are provided through the District Lodge Pacific Southwest No. 15 and the Vasa Order of America Grand Lodge. Scholarship offerings include Swedish Language Camps in the USA and Sweden, and a variety of higher education needs. You can find more information at the websites:
---District 15: http://vasadl15.org/
---Vasa Order: http://www.vasaorder.com/
POINTS OF INTEREST:
---The Vasa National Archives is located at Bishop Hill, IL a Historical City and provides culture programs and special events. Check them out at https://www.vasaarchives.org/
---Vasa Parks of the USA.
Our lodge is a member of the Vasa Park Association in Southern California who hold three picnics annually at Vasa Park in Agoura Hills:
------ Spring Fest Picnic - Host: District Lodge Pacific Southwest No. 15
------ Midsummer - Host: Swedish American Central Association of Southern California
------ Hostmarknad - Host: Vasa Park Association and the Local Lodge Members
