Norsk Høstfest (

Norwegian language Norwegian ( ) is a North Germanic language from the Indo-European language family spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelli ...

: "''Norwegian Autumn Festival (literally: Norwegian Harvest Festival)''") is an annual festival held each fall in

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

, US. It is North America's largest Scandinavian festival.

History

The event is held on the North Dakota State Fair grounds in Minot, North Dakota. Tens of thousands of people attend to celebrate and partake in the Scandinavian culture and entertainment. Altogether it has hosted cultural touchstones from

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Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

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and the

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. The festival was founded in 1978 by former North Dakota senator and mayor of Minot, Chester Reiten (1923-2013), and a group of friends who shared his interest in celebrating their Nordic heritage. The festival is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that raises funds to preserve, improve and share Scandinavian culture, heritage and educational programs. The 2020 and 2021 editions of the Hostfest have been cancelled due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

global pandemic.

Activities

Highlights of the festival include announcing the annual Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame inductees. The

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

is a means of honoring those persons of Scandinavian descent in North America who have achieved greatness in their fields of endeavor and/or whose efforts have contributed significantly to the betterment of mankind. Other honors include the selection of the annual Miss Norsk Høstfest and naming of the Chester Award, which recognizes festival excellence in five categories: artisan, exhibitor, food concessionaire, volunteer and chairman. Norsk Høstfest features a number of Nordic exhibits with artisans, craftsmen and chefs participating. During Høstfest week (end of September through first few days of October), presenters associated with the festival travel to the surrounding area where they introduce Nordic heritage and culture to students in an effort named "Høstfest in the Schools". Additionally, Scandinavian Youth Camp is held the weekend prior to Høstfest. Children participating in the camps also perform at the festival in events such as the

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

beauty contest, Norwegian

folk dance A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances ...

, Swedish

maypole A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European List of folk festivals, folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on May Day, 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some co ...

dancers, and the troll parade. There are several headliner acts booked each night of the event, not limited to the event's Scandinavian theme. Headliners in the past have included performers from the United States, Canada and Europe.Helseth, Candi
''Three decades of Høstfest. Minot steals the show with country’s premier Scandinavian festival''
(Bismarck, ND: North Dakota Horizons. Fall 2006)

References

Additional sources

*Olson, Lori; Olson, Jim (1995) ''Norsk Hostfest: Heritage Comes Alive'' (Helena, Mt: Farcountry Press) *Emch Paul Thomas (2011) ''The Norsk Hostfest: A Celebration of Ethnic Food and Ethnic Identity'' (Dallas, TX: SIL International)

External links

Norsk Høstfest websiteNews of Norway

Sons of NorwayNorth Dakota Horizons

Minot Chamber of CommerceNordmanns-Forbundet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norsk Hostfest Cultural festivals in the United States Danish-American culture in North Dakota Festivals in North Dakota Finnish-American culture in North Dakota Icelandic-American culture in North Dakota Norwegian-American culture in North Dakota Swedish-American culture in North Dakota Tourist attractions in Minot, North Dakota Scandinavian-American culture Recurring events established in 1978 1978 establishments in North Dakota