Children and Youth at Hostfest

Children and Youth perform and participate in 2013 Norsk Hostfest in Minot, North dakota. 

  • Ross Sutter from the Scandinavian Youth Camp gives the children participating in Swedish dance a chance to create their own waltz tune on the button-box accordion. Photos by V. S. Arrowsmith.
  • Minot, ND—The 36th annual Norsk Hostfest is now a memory. The four-day event is packed with activities, programs, concerts, food, shopping, ceremonies, and cultural experiences. While the festival originally began with a Norwegian focus, it now has strong representation from the Nordic countries through vendors, artisans, performers, teachers, and guests. Minot, ND is the site of this celebration, which is the largest Scandinavian festival in North America.
    A new and major sponsor of youth programming was Statoil, which supported the 13th annual Scandinavian Youth Camp, the Hostfest-in-the-Schools program and the exhibits, programs, and events in Tromsø Hall, which focused on the cultures of Native Americans from the Turtle Mountains, the Sami from northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.
    Children who participated in the Scandinavian Youth Camp contributed to the festival’s programs when they performed and presented as Norwegian dancers, Swedish dancers, trolls, Vikings, Lego Camp participants, and Norwegian storytellers through a theater project.
    The dates for the 2014 events are October 1-4, with opening day programs on September 30. For more information visit www.hostfest.com
    By Valorie Arrowsmith