Lori Paakh: A Gift for Helping People Work Together

By Rachel Leingang
Staff Writer

An integral part of a healthy and productive community is the way it treats arts and culture. Here in Fargo-Moorhead, where the biggest nationality groups are Nordic, Lori Paakh works to bring culture to the forefront.

Paakh has been the executive director of the Nordic Culture Clubs since January of this year. To the table she brings her multi-faceted work experience, years as an educator, and people skills. She has worked for Trollwood Performing Arts School as a program coordinator, ran her own bridal consultant business, produced /coordinated many events large and small, and has directed and performed in many musical theater productions.

A native of Fargo, Paakh graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead and currently is working on her master’s degree at North Dakota State University in Fargo. Additionally, she has spent many years as a music teacher. She’s always been active in many different areas and loved working with people.

“I always have my fingers in quite a few pies, like organizing, marketing,” said Paakh. “I like to have fun as a team. My gift is helping people work together.”

Her gifts and varied interests led her to apply for the job at Nordic Culture Clubs. “The cultural aspect intrigued me, along with the coordination of multiple responsibilities including marketing, fundraising, community collaboration, traveling, and working with the Nordics and their heritage,” she said. “Culture in any community is what keeps the community alive.”

Her various talents and influence can be seen in the increased size of the annual Scandinavian Festival. Paakh has added a 5K run/walk to the lineup of events in order to bring in new blood and a younger crowd. As a former teacher, her influence is seen most in the expanded kids program, which will feature activities each hour, including reindeer, a troll on stilts, volcano building, Nordic songs, and more. As always, there will be quality performers and delicious food. Some featured performers include the Icelandic Boys Choir, an Icelandic soprano, a Danish professional pianist, dancers and a style show. This year is also the Icelandic Expo, so attendees can expect to see performers and dignitaries from Iceland.

In addition to the Scandinavian Festival, the Nordic Culture Clubs plans yearly tours to countries like Iceland (this year’s tour was canceled due to the volcano), Norway, and Denmark. Coming up is a five-country tour of all the Nordic countries. Paakh greatly supports these tours because she believes, “it’s so important to celebrate and value who you are and learn from your heritage and past.”

In addition to being passionate about culture, travel, and human relations, Paakh is also an advocate for maintaining balance in life. She concedes that she juggles roles as the mother of two girls, musician, educator and working woman, and that life can sometimes get a bit hectic. “I like to balance myself and continue to grow mentally, physically, and spiritually,” said Paakh. “Mentally, I continue to try new things in life to be challenged. Physically, I regularly work out and recently took up running,” she said. Paakh ran the Dick Bearsley half marathon and the Fargo two-person marathon for the first time this past year.

In this respect, Paakh serves as an inspiration for those looking to make a difference. As Paakh shows, when a person works toward balance in life, the rest can fall into place. Opportunities can come along and change a course when a person is willing to take that chance.

But it’s also worth noting that not all things come easy. “I have come through adversities, and through those, it forced me to learn more about myself and how I handle situations,” said Paakh. “Those situations and how I got through them stretched me to achieve more than I would have otherwise. Adversity can be good because it helps you grow as a person.”

These days, Paakh is looking forward to the future and her role as a leader in the community. “I feel like my life has just begun for me at this point,” she said. “I have an opportunity to make a bigger impact. I’m ready to take on new challenges, a new leadership role, and ready to be stretched and pushed.”

Paakh wants young women to believe in themselves, become educated, and maintain balance in life, which she acknowledges can be hard to do. Every year or so, Paakh evaluates her life mentally, physically, and spiritually, then tweaks her goals to challenge or improve herself while striving for balance in her life.

Paakh is a role model within the Fargo-Moorhead community: for bringing an integral cultural event to the forefront of the community, as a great mother, as an educator, and as a woman in an important leadership position. Her work is to be admired, as is the way she lives her life on a daily basis.

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Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival Highlights

Friday, June 25
11 am: Opening Ceremony with Icelandic dignitaries;
12 pm: Reykjavik Boys Choir on the Main Stage
4 pm: Glenn Henriksen, Pianist

Saturday, June 26, 9 am: 5K Run/Walk
12 pm: Gudrun Ingimars, Soprano
3 pm: Glenn Henricksen, Pianist
Sunday, June 27, 1 pm: NorSweDane Dancers
2 pm: Closing ceremony