Our speaker for the November cultural meeting will be John Horrigan, who spoke about the legend of Norumbega for the Newton History Series last spring.

Five-time Emmy Award-Winning folklorist John Horrigan presents a talk about “Norumbega”, a mythological city of gold along the Charles River in Massachusetts that was allegedly visited by Leif Erickson around 1000 A.D.  This theory was proposed in the late 19th century by Eben Horsford, a former Harvard professor and affluent businessman, and subsequently, a “Viking craze” swept through New England. Although there is no solid evidence that the Vikings actually visited the region, it stoked the public’s imagination as they romanticized about brave Nordic explorers and warriors. Learn more about the appeal of the Vikings and their influence on popular culture in the region, including the Norumbega Tower that Harvard Professor Eben Horsford built along the Charles River and Norumbega Amusement Park and the popular dance club known as the “Totem Pole” in Newton.