Scandinavian Festival

A week and a half ago we went to the Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival, held at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead.  This festival has been going on for 30+ years and we've not attended in our 11 years in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

We picked up my Mom and Grandma - might as well bring the two 100% Norwegians!  :-)  There were many activities during the three-day festival.  We enjoyed checking out some of the booths.  There was a passport program for the kids - they could take their passports from booth to booth with each country and get each Scandinavian country's flag, learn facts, etc.  Carson tried weaving and made a great little rug too!  We watched Scandia Fun Folk Dancers from Winnipeg for a while too.

The treat of the day was "Taste of Scandinavia".  We feasted on treats from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.  Some of my favs were Risgrynsgrot (from Sweden - sweet rice pudding with raspberries), lefse, and Rømmegrøt.

One of my very earliest memories is eating Rømmegrøt.  I was sitting on a curb and eating it out of a little bowl in the little town my Mom grew up near.  I remember it was hot outside but really wanted more of the hot yummy porridge.  I'm guessing I was 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 years old - (help me out Mom!).  It was so delicious.  Of course, when I was a toddler, I could afford to eat multiple bowls of the calorie-rich deliciousness.  Not so much now!

Knowing that Grace will eat everything, I was excited to have her try Rømmegrøt.  Not sure if it was because she was tired, the texture or the taste, but she tried a small spoonful and didn't want anymore.  I tried a few more times and she even covered her mouth!  It gave us some good laughs.  Thankfully, she loves lefse (she's eaten it many times before), so she enjoyed lefse, three red potatoes and some other small odds and ends.  Carson and Trav ended up sitting at another table due to space - they enjoyed some fun goodies too, including Danish pancake balls.

We had a wonderful time and will now ensure the Scandinavian Festival is on our list to attend each year!