POULSBO – When Thor joins the party, there’s no mistaking his presence.

After the maistang pole was raised, the dances were danced and the songs were sung during Midsommarfest June 18, thunder peals pounded and lightning flashed, followed by a torrential downpour.

That was at about 2 p.m. Within an hour, the skies quieted and a light rain fell, a calm segue to the Sons of Norway’s centennial gala later in the day.

Someone might say the Norse god of rain and thunder was showing his approval of the day’s events.

Midsommarfest, a celebration of the arrival of summer (5 p.m. local time June 20), featured flower crown making, the raising of the maistang, and dancing with the Poulsbo Leikarringen Dancers in Muriel Iverson Williams Waterfront Park.

The day coincided with the Kitsap Water Trail Festival elsewhere in the county. The Port of Poulsbo joined in the fun by providing two-for-one moorage and hosting a fishing derby, children’s activities and live music. The port would co-host Keys to Keyport, a recreational paddle from Poulsbo to Keyport, on June 19.

Midsommarfest is hosted annually by the Poulsbo Sons of Norway Lodge; the cultural event underscores the lodge’s role in the community. The local lodge was founded in 1916 to assist Norway’s children who settled here, and promote the study of Norwegian culture.

One hundred years later, the lodge is an increasingly diverse organization; one member’s forebears came from Lebanon, another is African American and married to a woman born in Scotland. All members are drawn to the lodge by an interest in Scandinavian culture and a desire to participate in endeavors that make a positive impact in the community.

“My hope is that they continue to thrive,” Mayor Becky Erickson said, noting that at the last membership meeting, the lodge initiated 44 new members.

“My hope is they continue to thrive and grow and function as that cultural piece. [The lodge] is a remembrance of our history, of where we came from as a community, and they also serve today as a focal point of what our heritage and traditions are. It’s very important to our community.”

David Graves puts the finishing touches on the Midsommarfest maistang after it was raised June 18 at Muriel Iverson Williams Waterfront Park. Richard Walker / Herald

Elisabet Willis, whose father is from Sweden, leads celebrants in a Swedish folk song during a dance around the maistang, June 18 at Muriel Iverson Williams Waterfront Park. Richard Walker / Herald

Andrew Doornink plays a traditional song on the nyckelharpa, a Swedish keyed violin that is depicted in Scandivanian art as early as the 1300s. Doornink’s instrument is approximately 80 years old. Richard Walker / Herald

Celebrants dance to a traditional song after the raising of the maistang at Midsommarfest, June 18 at Muriel Iverson Williams Waterfront Park. Richard Walker / Herald