One of the few reminders of the bygone days of Norwegian hegemony in Bay Ridge — the annual Miss Norway of Greater New York pageant — returns on April 4.
Participation in the 55-year-old celebration of Nordic heritage (and, let’s face it, the celebrated Nordic physique, too) has fallen dramatically, but a dedicated band of Scandinavian descendants promises that the springtime return of the pageant is as certain as a good pillaging by Vikings in the Middle Ages.
“We expect to have about 10 contestants this year,” down from 15 last year, said Beverley Skaar, a member of the Miss Norway events committee. (Last year’s winner, Sarah Lindland, is pictured.)
“Most of the participants are not from Bay Ridge, but very often their parents lived there at some point.”
Those family ties were strongest in the 1960s and earlier, when Bay Ridge had huge Scandinavian populations. The neighborhood is still a Little Oslo, well a Very Little Oslo at least.
“We were pretty much the dominant ethnic group,” said Arlene Rutelo nee Bakke, who co-owns Third Avenue’s legendary Nordic Delicacies with her mother.
“You would walk along Eighth Avenue and it was all Norwegian. The younger generation doesn’t have any memories of that.”
Unlike the Miss America competition, which is sometimes criticized for the bathing suit competition, the Miss Norway contest has only two question-and-answer rounds. The poise and elegance of the entrants, aged 17–24, is a factor, but unlike other beauty contests, contestants are not required to flash their flesh all over the Norwegian Christian Home and Health Center, though they are dressed elegantly.
“It’s a very simple event with two rounds of appearances on the stage,” Skaar explained. “The judges look for their interest in Norway, their enthusiasm about their Norwegian heritage and their prospects for the future.”
Miss Norway of Greater New York at the Norwegian Christian Home [1250 67th St. between 12th and 13th avenues in Dyker Heights, (917) 656-1552], April 4, 2 pm.
