MINOT, ND ( KXNET ) — The biggest Scandinavian festival in North America is still going strong in the Magic City.

The four-day festival, which began on Wednesday and ends tomorrow at the North Dakota State Fair Center, celebrates Scandinavian heritage and preserves Nordic culture.

One of the biggest parts of the Norsk Høstfest is that all of the vendors, along with Craig Rudland, the General Manager of the North Dakota State Fair, say that many people with booths at the Høstfest are just as big a part of the festival as the festival itself.

“A lot of the vendors have been here almost as long as the Høstfest has been in existence,” Rudland said. “They have people they bring over from Norway.”

With over 100 vendors who sell things ranging from clothing to traditional Nordic foods — like Norwegian baked salmon and hand-rolled meatballs — there’s something for everyone at the Norsk Høstfest.

For folks looking for a tasty bite to eat, there’s Lutefisk, which is a classic Scandinavian dish, as well as many tasty dessert options. Other vendors at Høstfest, like Robert Goosen, who does woodworking and sells wooden hammers at the Høstfest, sees his work as a way of preserving his heritage.

“I love preserving the heritage and carrying on the traditions and stuff like that,” Goosen said. “Hopefully my wood will last forever. Well, maybe not forever, but will be cherished by folks for the creativity and craftsmanship of it.”

Despite being a first-year vendor at the Norsk Høstfest, Jo Khalifa of Mojo Roast says the festival has been a big part of her family.

“My mom volunteered down here for many, many years since it started. Now, she’s passed, but it was just something really intriguing,” Khalifa said. “She was 100 percent Norwegian and our ancestry, it’s just nice to come down and mingle with everybody.”

Høstfest is an event that means a lot to so many in North Dakota, but Rudland says that the Høstfest’s impact goes beyond just the people of the Peace Garden State.

“They go a lot further than just North Dakota. I mean, again, you get into Minnesota and Canada and just that wide range. I mean, this is where the Scandinavian people migrated and built their lives,” Rudland said.

Tomorrow is the last day of Høstfest. Doors open at 9 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

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