IKEA Stores* Host Swedish Midsummer Feasts to Celebrate the Start of Summer

IKEA is hosting its annual Midsummer Smörgåsbord event in the restaurants of IKEA U.S. stores* on Friday, June 12. "Midsommar" (midsummer) marks the longest day of the year, and is celebrated in many parts of the world. In Sweden, Midsummer festivities to ring in the summer solstice include food, music, dancing and more, and are much-anticipated after a winter of short days and long nights. To join in on the fun of this holiday, IKEA is inviting customers to an all-you-can-eat Midsummer Smörgåsbord event featuring traditional Swedish fare. Tickets are available for $16.99 per person/$4.99 for kids 12 and under, or at a discounted rate for IKEA FAMILY** members ($12.99 per person or $2.99 for kids 12 and under).

"We love the opportunity to share Swedish traditions with our community," said Patricia Meumann, IKEA Food Manager. "So, whether or not you have Swedish heritage, we invite everyone to come and celebrate Midsummer, and enjoy a great meal with their family and friends."

The IKEA Midsummer menu*** includes:

• Assorted varieties of herring
• Whole poached salmon
• Tossed green salad
• Cucumber salad
• Rhode Island salad
• Midsummer fruit salad
• Assorted Swedish cheeses
• Boiled dill potatoes
• Meatballs with lingonberries
• Hard boiled eggs with shrimp
• Gravad lax w/ mustard sauce
• Smoked salmon w/horseradish sauce
• Swedish ham (served cold) w/mustard
• Prinskorv sausage (sautéed)
• Crispbread, thin bread
• Ice cream
• Assorted desserts
• Coffee, tea, fountain beverage

Seating is limited, so those that are interested are encouraged to purchase tickets early at their local IKEA store. To locate and contact the nearest IKEA store for more details and seating times, please visit: IKEA-USA.com (go to the "Store Locator" page on http://www.IKEA-USA.com and enter your city/state or zip code).

HOME ACTIVITY: Midsummer Celebration
If you can't make it to a local store, have your own Midsummer celebration at home! Swedes celebrate the greenery by gathering wildflowers and weaving them into wreaths to wear as crowns. They also use them to wrap around the Midsummer Pole and to decorate their homes. Here are a few ways to bring these touches of Midsummer's Eve to your own summer celebration:

• Make a wreath: To add a bit of Swedish culture to your summer party, help kids make their own wreaths with flowers or greenery from your garden. Start by making small flower bouquets (You'll need about 18 bouquets.); keep the stems long to make the wreath sturdy. Bind each bouquet with string or thin wire. Loop a long piece of wire around the bottom of each bouquet, and create a garland by alternately placing one bouquet to the left and the next to the right. When the garland is long enough to measure around your head, fit the stems of the last bouquet under the first bouquet and bind the garland into a round wreath. Keep the wreath in a plastic bag in the refrigerator until use, and spray it with water occasionally to keep it fresh.
• Decorate: In Swedish tradition, young women pick flowers and put them under their pillows, confident that the Midsummer flowers will reveal their future husbands in their dreams. Families decorate their homes with flowers to bring good fortune to the household until the next Midsummer. Have fun doing both!

*IKEA Carson will not be participating/will not be hosting a Midsummer Smörgåsbord event.

**IKEA FAMILY is a benefits program that offers membership perks including special product discounts, sneak previews, free coffee and tea in the IKEA Restaurant, and more. Consumers can sign up for the free program online or in-store.

***Menu is subject to change due to product availability.

ABOUT IKEA
Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at low prices so the majority of people can afford them. here are currently more than 360 IKEA stores in 47 countries, including 40 in the U.S. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

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