I was standing at the intersection of Market Street. and Ballard Avenue last Sunday waiting for the Syttende Mai parade to begin. I was standing next to a guy about my age talking on his cell phone.

“Dude,” he said to the person on the other end of the line, “you’re not going to believe where I am.”

His reaction seemed to sum up the mood of many in the crowd. It was a great day for a parade and a great opportunity to take a look into the past, present and future of Ballard.

The parade began many years ago as a celebration of a holiday of a particular ethnic group in a particular neighborhood in which they were a majority. I saw a great many people wearing traditional Norwegian dresses, Norwegian themed T-shirts, Viking helmets and a great many people who seemed like they had only recently moved to Ballard.

Whatever the reasons that people came to see the parade, it was great to see the Ballard community out in the streets enjoying a parade on a wonderful sunny spring day. There eventually will come a time when all the half finished condos are built and filled, many by people who do not have any Scandinavian heritage.

What will happen to the Syttende Mai parade then?

I hope that as Ballard changes in the 21st Century, the people who currently call it home or will soon, continue to honor the history of the area. The Syttende Mai parade and the other Scandinavian festivals are traditions that people have kept going for many years, and in the process, have given Ballard a distinct, unique and wonderful identity.

Often, when there is rapid transformation in a neighborhood, such has been happening in Ballard, the people who gave the neighborhood its unique identity are usually the ones who can no longer afford to live there.

I’m grateful the Nordic Heritage Museum is planning on staying put and eventually moving to Market Street. I’m glad that there are still places to purchase Scandinavian food and to go to Scandinavian dances.

I suggest that if you don’t know much about the history of Ballard or Scandinavian culture that you look into it. When you go to one of the Scandinavian celebrations, let the organizers know you appreciate what they are doing for Ballard.

Without the efforts of these members of the community who put on cultural events like the parade, Ballard would soon stop being Ballard and become just another faceless part of the city.