Skudeneshavn
Encyclopedia
Karmøy
Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located southwest of the city of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland....
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. It is part of the traditional district
Districts of Norway
The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...
of Haugaland
Haugaland
Haugaland is a traditional district situated on the western coast of Norway. Haugaland is one of the 15 traditional district located within the Region of Vestlandet.-Location:...
. It has 5,000 inhabitants and is part of the municipality
Municipalities of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
of Karmøy
Karmøy
Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located southwest of the city of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland....
in the county
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...
of Rogaland
Rogaland
is a county in Western Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. It is the center of the Norwegian petroleum industry, and as a result of this, Rogaland has the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Norway, 1.1%...
.
Skudeneshavn is one of the smaller towns in Norway; Kolvereid
Kolvereid
Kolvereid is a town and former municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located within the present-day municipality of Nærøy. The small town of Kolvereid is also the administrative centre of the municipality....
with 1,470 inhabitants is the smallest.In 1990, it won second prize in NORTRA's competition for Norway's Best Preserved Small Town.
Skudeneshavn's old town (Gamle Skudeneshavn), consisting of 225 wooden houses, is regarded as one of the best preserved in Europe. In 2004, it was voted Norway's "Summer Town" by listeners to NRK Radio's Reiseradioen programme.
Skudefestival
Every year, Skudeneshavn hosts a "boating" festival known as Skudefestivalen. It usually runs for four days (Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun) at the end of June or beginning of July (it is a 'moveable' date). The festival is the largest gathering of coastal culture in Western Norway, with boats of all categories - old wooden boats, vintage boats, modern boats, sailing boats, tall ships - the town is full of life around the harbour - both on land and on water. Markets stalls are set up in the Town Square. Craftsmen demonstrate handcrafts from olden days connected to sea and shipping. Boat builders, ship models, old engines. An art exhibition in Søragadå - the main and narrow street in "Old Skudeneshavn" is held with a new festival artist chosen every year. Visitors can see the exhibitions in "Bytunet" in the old part of town. Entertainment is provided in the daytime - and in the evenings in the festival tent featuring national and international artists and in the many sea houses Celtic musicCeltic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
, blues and middle-of the road pop. Travelling amusement rides and arcades usually time their visits to coincide with this popular festival, providing extra enjoyment for younger children and teenagers. Every year about 35 000 people visit the festival and it gathers more than 600 boats.
The festival in 2011 is 30th June-3rd July.