May 17 was the annual celebration of Syttende Mai, commemorating the signing of Norway’s constitution.  We gotta lotta people of Norwegian descent in North Dakota; we gotta lotta.  The Internet says 33% of the population of the state has Norwegian in its veins – but, as one of very few non-Norwegians in the area, I’d say it’s more like 99.9% in our hearts.  For example, instead of traditional costumes and candy at Halloween, in North Dakota we dress in bunads and hand out fistfuls of rummegrot*.

*Just kidding, we do not do this.  Although it’s not the worst idea in the universe.  Rummegrot is a creamy pudding-y porridge dish made with butter and cinnamon and it’s deee-lish when it’s served in a Styrofoam bowl and sold for $1.10 by two little old Norwegian ladies – and if you’re wondering if I’m now channeling a beloved childhood memory of a now-long-gone-but-very-much-not-forgotten food stand called “A Taste of Norway,” you’d be right.

While Syttende Mai is a Norwegian holiday, North Dakota Norwegians are totally fine with non-Norwegians joining in the festivities.  I mean, this website is called North Dakota Nice and North Dakota is predominantly Norwegian, so it would be a pretty big surprise if 33% of the population was like, “Potatoes are OUR thing; go away.”  And so, when the Grand Forks chapter of Sons of Norway invited the community to their “Taste of Syttende Mai” lunch (brunch?  It went from 10am – 2pm), obviously, Kyle and I were there.

If ever there was a perfect spring day, May 17 was it.  The sky was blue, the temperature was a glorious 72 degrees, and tiny pink and white petals from flowering trees floated everywhere like magical sweet-smelling bubbles.  Kyle and I parked farther away than necessary from the Gyda Varden Lodge so we could get a little sunshine before lunch.  What we hadn’t anticipated was a little sunshine AND MUSIC because an accordionist and keyboardist had set up under a tent outside the Lodge and were playing a mix of traditional Norwegian tunes and popular favorites like, “You Are My Sunshine” to a crowd of whomever was gathered on the four folding chairs set up in front of them.

We listened for as long as we could before my hunger got the better of me (ten seconds), went inside and paid $15, bought a gazillion raffle tickets because Kyle and I have never met a raffle we didn’t like, and got our meals: a smorbrod (an open-faced sandwich of sorts; I picked smoked salmon, Kyle picked shrimp salad, both of us got a toothpick with a Norwegian flag), a piece of lefse (a thin potato tortilla which you roll with butter and sugar), a smakaker (a cookie similar to ladyfingers), and a dessert (I picked riskrem – rice cream with jelly – and Kyle picked blotkake, which was a flaky cake). 

The Lodge was set up with a series of long decorated tables and, because everyone was either North Dakota Norwegian or North Dakota Norwegian-Adjacent, all of those present sat at their own tables out of concern for making another group feel uncomfortable, instead just smiling pleasantly at the general populace.  Kyle and I sat at the table closest to the ticket table and spent 50% of the meal discussing whether or not we should purchase a second plate because it was goo-oood (we ultimately decided no because “I’m too full to eat my entire dessert, let’s get another plate of food” was not great decisionmaking).

On the way out the door, Kyle mentioned to one of the ticket-takers how much he liked the smakaker (the cookie), and that ticket-taker pointed to another ticket-taker named Irene, who first described how the cookie was made, and then pulled out her phone and straight-up GAVE ME THE RECIPE on her own volition.

“I think this goes against the rules of never sharing a secret family recipe,” I said to her.

“Oh,” she shrugged, which was the most North Dakotan response ever.

After I was done taking a picture of the recipe, I also took a picture of a front-page newspaper clipping on a bulletin board at the entrance.  The photo was a smiling gentleman on a golf cart, and the headline originally read, “AGE 101 AND STILL GOLFING.”  Someone had rewritten one of the “1”’s and crossed off the “LF” to make the headline now read, “AGE 105 AND STILL GOING.”

“If you like that clipping, check out this one,” she said, pointing to an adjacent article entitled, “FOR THE LOVE OF LEFSE.”

“That’s Else Rike and she’s 100,” Irene said.  “She makes lefse every year.”

“Is lefse the key to long life?”  I asked.

“Oh,” she laughed, and shrugged.

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The photo above is of my date to Syttende Mai.

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This week on North Dakota Today, we talked about a fifth-grade class at Thompson Elementary taking storytelling to new audiences, and a gentleman in Grand Forks named Gary Urness who knows a lot about birdhouses and license plates. (Valley News Live)

Quote of the week: “We decided rather than go to a NDSU Bison game, we decided to get married.” (Valley News Live)

The Grand Forks community is raising money for a bench in honor of Mr. Hanson. (Facebook)

Hazen’s Rodney Schlafmann has now finished first in every one of Game and Fish’s annual fishing challenges. (KFYR TV)

Minot will soon be home to the largest piece of public art. (KX Net)

Seth Varner has now visited all 355 of North Dakota’s cities and towns. (Facebook)

Fargo’s Grant Nelson, known in basketball circles as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide, has returned – temporarily – home. (KVRR)

Speaking of Fargo athletes, Onya Kretchman is now a member of the UNLV dance team. (Fargo Forum)

It’s not exactly NEWS, but here’s some advice to make sure lake like stays nice. (Facebook)

Whattacatch, Charlie Deziel of Thompson. (Grand Forks Herald)

Fargo’s Down Home recently helped a family of TEN get their house in order. (Valley News Live)

Kyle and his friends, Corey and Kelly, have a podcast called North Dakota After Dark where they talk about youth hockey in North Dakota.  The latest episode is up and is an interview with hockey legend Gino Gasparini.  Check it out. Bonus: you can watch it on YouTube. (North Dakota After Dark)

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