Norsk Hostfest celebrates Scandinavian culture

Culture | October 5th, 2016

By Amy Venn

amyvenn86@gmail.com

The 39th annual Norsk Hostfest promised “pure Scandinomium” this year and delivered over four days in Minot, ending with a performance from Big & Rich on Saturday night. The North Dakota State Fairgrounds was the sight for a celebration of Scandinavian culture, big name entertainment, and traditional food. 12 years old, plays the violin and sings with her father, with whom she’s also recorded a cd.

Dwight Yoakam, Sara Evans, and Chicago had performances scattered throughout the festival. Smaller acts also littered the star studded line up, like the father-daughter duo Elise & Terje Hong from Norway. The musical act traveled through North Dakota and Montana for several weeks before ending up at Norsk Hostfest. Elise,

Clint Hill, co-author of Five Presidents and a North Dakota native, was a keynote speaker on Friday afternoon in Oslo Hall. Hill and co-author Lisa McCubbin spoke about the book which covered his time as a secret service agent under former presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. Hill captivated a room full of listeners as he recalled a conversation with LBJ when he was informed, “Anybody who worked for Kennedy couldn’t be trusted.”

Other authors could be found in the Author’s Corner, an area where people could listen to authors speak about their experiences and read exerts from their books.

Master chefs from Norway cooked up homeland favorites like fish soup or waffles at Scandi in Reykjavik Hall and reservations for a three course meal were available at En To Tre in Oslo Hall. Finnish treats like mojakka, a beef stew, could be found right next to the nontraditional biscuits and gravy. Oof-Da Tacos offered a Nordic spin on Mexican cuisine in Copenhagen hall.

Knoephla with sauerkraut, plain old cake donuts, Swedish meatballs and wine tasting scattered the venue. Vendors were also plentiful, selling everything from Norwegian wool sweaters to liquor-filled chocolates, with a lot of lefse in between. Handcrafted souvenirs and art was also available for purchase.

Most visitors, like Kay Cavanaugh from Bozeman, MT, look forward to the event all year. “The food is so wonderful and the music, too,” she said, “My friends and I have so much fun here.” Buses full of eager attendees are even brought down from Canada.

General admission tickets were $40, which gave access to all the different halls, vendors, and food booths. The funds earned go to Norsk Hostfest, a nonprofit organization that aims to preserve Scandinavian culture through their youth programs, Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame, and the Norsk Hostfest itself. The 40th anniversary festival next year will be held September 27-30, 2017 and promises to provide even more Scandinavian culture.

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