The Vikings have breached the gates of Whitestown, Indiana!

And have taken the throne!

With the city now firmly under the control of Storrada of Ravensguard, a new age has begun.

And they have three simple demands for the common folk.

Eat, drink and celebrate with your fellow Hoosiers at Viking Fest!

So Whitestown Viking Fest is kind of a reenactment festival to kind of, give people the history of how the Vikings lived, many years ago.

Now in its ninth year, Viking Fest draws over 4000 people over three days to Arts Acres Park.

Some are locals.

Some come from out of state.

But ALL are here to have fun!

So this festival for anybody and anybody that wants to come.

Were completely Family-Friendly.

Anybody is welcome!

And at the center of it all, are the Vikings, who call themselves Storrada of Ravensguard.

But where did they get their name?

So it comes from Sigrid Storrada.

Our image, is based off of her.

She was a queen in the Old Norse sagas.

It was said to marry her, you had to give her something greater than what she already owned.

And if you couldn't do that?

You weren't a worthy suitor.

The group recreates historically accurate Viking villages like this one, reenacts Viking battles and educates people on Viking culture.

To them, this is everything.

Storrada of Ravensguard is a family.

Plain and simple.

I mean, you asked me to say this in small, simple words, but there is no way that even in a small line or a book, or even if I was to write my own scribe text, that I could tell you how much this group means to me.

it brings back a sense of camaraderie, brings back a sense of having a family that's not like bloodline, it brings back a sense of something more than like first world stuff.

Like, learn how to make things instead of going to the store and buying it.

For the entire three days of the festival.

The Vikings don't go home.

They sleep, eat and live right here in the woods.

Just like real Vikings.

We like to set up a, village that would have existed in around, 10th century, Viking era.

We go from 793 to 1066.

And we set up our tents, as was archeologically found during that time.

And we have our cooking area.

We have a bunch of obviously fighters, which you've met.

we try and make it a little home away from home.

And it is much like that.

Carol, known to the group as Grandma Carol is the hearthmaster and craft master for Storrada.

And she likes to talk about how different things really were for the Vikings.

Now the thing is, I tell people like, you literally had no stores.

You had to be able to make trade or, you know, barter for whatever you needed.

But if you're just beginning your Viking journey, you can count on the village to lend a helping hand.

Like when I first started, I didn't have anything.

It was all borrowed to me.

And now I have the ability to have more stuff now because it was all loaned to me at first and now I can build my own kit.

That kit by the way, is almost entirely handmade by the Vikings themselves.

One of the things I do mostly is tablet weaving, which, as you can see here, they use these, tablet woven, things for like straps, belts, trim for clothes like this.

I do a spinning, with a drop spindle, and that how... I taught her... Yeah, she taught me!

That was part of my job to teach people.

And that's how they made, actually made the yarn and string out of raw wool from the sheep.

Meanwhile, Grandma Carol is making socks, through a process called “Nålbinding” “Nål” stands for needle and “binding” is just binding, and what it basically involves is a needle, like a big sewing needle.

And youre basically making a whole series of loops.

If you snag a hole in it, it will not unravel like crocheting or knitting.

So they're very durable.

Everybody loves them.

And everybody that buys a pair in the Viking community says it is a game changer!

And if you're curious about any other crafts, just ask.

Yup!

I'm happy to teach whoever's interested.

I'm not rich, I'm not famous or anything like that, but I can teach what I know to people who want to learn.

Of course, Vikings were known for more than their sock making.

So within this group, I am the Kampsjef, which that means battle master.

Fighting can range anywhere from three fighting styles.

You've got Western, you've got Eastern, and then you got Huscarl.

Western, starts with t shirt, short target areas.

you're going to strike swift, fast, without leaving a bruise.

Eastern, you're going to be in armor.

You're going to be fighting pretty hard.

You're gonna be clashing, beating, you could expect to see blood in that.

Huscarl, you're going to fight and you're going to go to the killing point.

We wear HEMA masks.

Face slashing, top of the head, the groin, anywhere.

Wow!

That honestly sounds a little too graphic for me.

Thankfully at this festival, Storrada keeps it PG.

But don't think for a second that means it's any less intense.

As skirmishes and battle cries echo throughout the arena, haunting war drums and chants ring out from the band performing on stage.

It's really awesome to have a backtrack/soundtrack that you could kind of... If it beats really good, you could kind of time yourself to the beat of the music and... No, it's awesome.

It's an ego boost.

I'm not even gonna lie.

Like, imagine you're fighting and you take your sword, you go through a shield and it's like, the music's just playing heavy.

Instantly you feel like Beowulf just slaughtering Grendel.

Although many come to Viking Fest for the spectacle of the arena, after you spend some more time in the village and talk to the re-enactors, it all starts to click.

if it was at a different event and like I came up and I was like, “Hey, let's just come as a day-visit, but can I bunk in your tent for tonight?” And they'd be like, “Yeah, of course, why not?” So youre never by yourself.

It gives me a connection to the past that I didn't have before.

And not only that, but connecting to the past helped me connect to all the other people that love that connection as well.

This group has given me purpose, this group has given me my life back, this group has joined together so many friends, this group means the world to me.

You know, you walk in and everybody hugs you first thing.

And you know?

I'm a hugger and I like that!

Just the fact that I'm learning skills that I wouldn't have learned otherwise with people that are so fun to hang out with.

That, I mean, what more can you ask for?

Attending Whitestown's Viking Fest can feel like stepping into history.

But for Storrada of Ravensguard, it's more like coming home.

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