The Norsk Hostfest has put some of the things people enjoy about the Hostfest online, according to information provided by the Norsk Hostfest Assocaition.

The Hostfest was canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Hostfest, the virtual Hostfest Schoolfest is available online at www.hostfest.com

On Hostfest Schoolfest people will find Scandinavian performances, videos, slide shows, lesson materials and links to other resources created by more than 20 artists from all over the U.S. and Scandinavia. People can learn how to bake Swedish cookies, do a Norwegian dance, sing a song, play a tune, help Sigrid, the brave Viking girl, face up to a dragon or just sit back and listen to a concert by leading Nordic musicians. The resource was especially created to be used by teachers and students in Minot Public Schools, but as the site developed it became evident the resource could be enjoyed by people of any age and anywhere around the world.

The site is currently live and will be online through the month of October. It will be offline for editing and additions in November and December and then will reappear for the month of January. It is hoped that this site can become an archive for Norsk Hostfest — a record of the outstanding and great variety of programs that have been offered in Minot Schools over the years. There are many resources available right now but keep checking back for more artists being added soon. Danish fiddler Kristain Bugge, the Larssons of southern Sweden, Antti Jarvela– of Finland and Stina Fagertun of Tromso, Norway will all be submitting performances in the coming weeks.

When Norsk Hostfest was canceled this year because of the pandemic, musician Ross Sutter, who has been part of Hostfest in the Schools and Scandinavian Youth Camp since they were first started in the 1990s, reached out to Norsk Hostfest and Minot Public Schools in the hope that Scandinavian artists would still be able to visit. When it became evident that even school visits would not be possible, the online program idea was born. Funding was secured and the idea began to take shape. Many current and former artists who have been involved in the program responded and began submitting videos and links to other materials and as a result, the Hostfest Schoolfest web project became a reality.