Swedish Yuletide Festival in Boston

When hosting my first Midsommarfest, I scoured the internet for information about Swedes in Boston - are there any groups I could join?  Is there any place besides Ikea to find Swedish goods?  And, to be perfectly honest, are there cute eligible Swedish bachelors somewhere in this town? 

I didn't come up with much...The Crown Bakery in Worcester (pronounced whu-stah here, I know, don't even get me started), plus another bakery that had closed long ago. 

But funny enough, a friend emailed me this December and said that one of the vendors he likes on Etsy was going to be at a Boston event...and it just happened to be a Swedish Yuletide Celebration!  After five years, I finally found a bit of the homeland in Boston.

(it's not surprising that I didn't find anything before now, either...the only bit of the host website that is in English is "Yuletide Celebration" which didn't make it on my list of words to search)

Hosted by the Swedish Women's Educational Association (SWEA), an organization focused culture and education, the Yuletide Festival has been held yearly since 1985.  Full of crafts, books, musicians, a Lucia parade, and food, it's a bustling event.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't a line this long!

After paying my $10 to enter, I wandered, taking in the smell of cider glögg and the festive accordion music.  It was quite crowded, but in some ways, it added to the fun.  Friends and I met and enjoyed a taste of home (two alums from Carleton College in Minnesota, another with Norwegian relatives, and one who's quite Swedish, just like me). 

And bonus, I found cloudberry jam.  Midsommarfest 2014, be ready.  ...because cloudberry jam is amazing.

The 2013 Lucia, likely an au pair from the Svenska Skolan, the Swedish School in Boston.