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Gala fireworks display at St. Olaf College April 27

mjc
April 20, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? Northfield residents are invited to view St. Olaf College?s gala fireworks display Friday, April 27, celebrating the inauguration of St. Olaf President Christopher Meredith Thomforde.

The fireworks will be launched from the athletic fields north of Skoglund Center shortly after 8:45 p.m. on April 27. Northfield citizens are invited to view the colorful display from the campus or from their homes.

"We invite the greater Northfield community to enjoy this marvelous display with us, and to join us in celebrating the inauguration of our 10th president, Christopher Thomforde," said Eida Berrio, chair of the inauguration fireworks committee.

Many other events are open to the public during the four-day inaugural celebration Thursday through Sunday, April 26-29. They include five concerts, two worship services, two performances of a Roman comedy, an art exhibit, a dance festival/concert and a community celebration on Bridge Square.

The Bridge Square event, on Thursday, April 26, from 5:30-6:30 p.m., will introduce a new Northfield Historical Museum exhibit, "Intersecting Communities," which provides a visual history of the relationships among St. Olaf College and its presidents, the city of Northfield, Carleton College and other communities of which St. Olaf is a part. The event will include a brief program and ribbon-cutting, free cake and music by St. Olaf College?s Norseman Band.

The official inauguration will be a colorful academic ceremony in Skoglund Center Auditorium at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 29, with Librarian of Congress James Billington delivering the main address. Inauguration Day also will include a tree-planting ceremony, a worship service, a reception and an orchestra concert.

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Christopher Thomforde was named president of the 127-year-old St. Olaf College last September following an extensive national search. He began work at the college on Jan. 15, and since then has quickly become involved in Northfield activities, preaching at St. John?s Lutheran Church, meeting with numerous local groups and speaking to local service clubs, including the Northfield Lions and Northfield Rotary.

St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty complement of approximately 300. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.