Blomstrom Family Reunion

June 23-26, 2005

David Blomstrom Sr. of Richmond, Texas and Ed Blomstrom of Oregon, Wisconsin have finalized most of the planning for the Blomstrom Family Reunion!

The reunion will be held Thursday June 23rd through Sunday June 26th of 2005 in and around Hoffman Estates, Illinois (which is about 45 minutes northwest of Chicago). The hotel's location is marked by a red star in the top left corner of this map.

More details and revisions will be posted here as they develop. If you would like to be kept informed of updates, subscribe to the Family Reunion Mailing List.

David & Ed have tentatively planned the following events:

June 23rd - Thursday evening banquet with Swedish Folk music and dance entertainment. Also, possibly, an Oom-pah dance band. This would be preceded by a cash bar happy hour during which time photos of all families would be taken for inclusion in a Reunion Memory book.

June 24th or 25th - Friday or Saturday: Swedish buffet at the Methodist Church in Geneva. David & Ed went there this summer and thought it was nice and reasonable. They need to check with the church to see if they can handle a group of say 100 plus or minus. David believes the cost will be about $15 each. Transportation would likely be by private car and we should have volunteers to transport those without vehicles. It is a 20 minute drive to Geneva from the hotel.

June 26th - Sunday morning: A devotional service, preferably by a Swedish Evangelical Free minister. Following the devotional is a breakfast with a brief meeting after that to discuss the possibility of future Blomstrom Family Reunions.

They will also encourage visitation to the "Swedish Days Festival," which will be taking place in Geneva during the Reunion. There is a lot to do and see during that time and everyone should plan to visit there for a day or two. (Geneva is about 20 minutes south of the Marriott hotel. In this map, Geneva is below and to the left of the Marriott (which is marked by a red star.)

A hospitality room stocked with coffee, soft drinks, and snacks will be used for visiting, display of family trees, merchandise, etc. and should be a popular meeting place.

The Reunion "package" registration fee will cover the cost of the above (maybe one t-shirt per family as well) and allow for the purchase of optional items, like t-shirts, coffee mugs, and beer mugs with the Blomstrom Coat of Arms. David & Ed are still working this out, so the price hasn't yet been set.

In order to plan all of the above activities, David & Ed need to know approximately how many people will be attending. So if you plan to attend, please pre-register here.

David & Ed have reserved hotel rooms at a group rate at the Marriott Chicago Northwest in Hoffman Estates, Illinois (near Chicago). Click here for details and to reserve a hotel room.

David has purchased 24 "Splendor of Sweden" 2005 calendars (which also includes Jan. 2006) for Blomstrom family members. They can be purchased for $13.50 each (includes postage/shipping). Checks should be made payable to:

Blomstrom Family Reunion

6161 Savoy, Suite 1212

Houston, TX 77036

These are large (approx 10x13 double-faced) wall calendars with a different Swedish scene for each month of the year. Also there are 365 proper Swedish first names (one for each day of the year). The pictures are beautiful and the calendar is nice to keep or to use as a gift. David will order more if the demand is sufficient.

David also plans to have more items, like t-shirts, coffee mugs, and beer mugs with the Blomstrom Coat of Arms, to offer for sale at the reunion.

** The background graphic on this page is the crest/coat of arms of Sir Laurentz Blomstrom, circa 1697 (courtesy of Ed Blomstrom). Click here for additional information.