“It just didn’t pencil out for this year,” said Reiten at a news conference in the Scandinavian Heritage Association Building in Minot. He added that the board had put forth its best efforts to bring the longtime Scandinavian American festival back this fall but it wasn’t feasible.

Board members Tim Mihalick and Jessica Ackerman, and Pam Davy, longtime executive director and recent acting director, said the board will be seeking a new president and new executive director and will take the next 15 to 18 months to reimagine the festival and plan to bring it back in 2022 with a new focus.

Among the problems that derailed this year’s festival were the uncertainties surrounding travel. Davy said those she talked with predicted that the U.S.-Canadian border is unlikely to be open yet this fall due to the slower rate of vaccinations and concerns about the virus in Canada. People in Skien, Norway, the Norsk Høstfest ‘s sister city in Norway, also told Davy that no dignitaries from that city will be traveling to the United States this year. She also said the tour business has been negatively affected by the ongoing pandemic and it isn’t clear when people will feel comfortable traveling to large events such as the Høstfest. Mihalick said other festivals – including the Burning Man Festival in Nevada – have been called off for this year. Ackerman said about 25 percent of attendees at past Høstfests have been from other countries and a large percentage of those travelers are Canadian.

Reiten’s father, the late Chester Reiten, helped establish the Høstfest and David Reiten took over as president about 10 years ago. He said his retirement from the Høstfest is emotional for both him and for his siblings since this will be the first time in 43 years that a Reiten has not been president. He said his retirement will also give the Høstfest Association a chance to move forward under different leadership. Reiten said he will miss the Høstfest but plans to attend in future years as a “civilian” and he will enjoy spending more time with his family and traveling and visiting with friends. He thanked the army of volunteers, vendors, entertainers, artists, and patrons and especially Davy who have made the event a success for the past four decades.

Andrea Johnson/MDN Norsk Hostfest Association board members Jessica Ackerman and Tim Mihalick announce that the Association will seek to reimagine the Norsk Hostfest, which is slated to come back in 2022.

“The city of Minot, the state of North Dakota, and the Scandinavian-American community at large owe the Reiten family an enormous debt of gratitude for the leadership and dedication poured into Norsk Høstfest over the decades,” the board said in an official statement. “In his tenure, David Reiten rose to the challenges that changes in the entertainment industry have presented, and kept the celebrating going nonetheless. On behalf of the board of directors, we thank him for a job well done – and pledge continuation of the Reiten legacy.”

Board members said they will meet with executives from other large-scale festivals and events from across the country to plan for the future. It will be important to them to maintain the Scandinavian-American focus for the festival. Davy said they have also discussed ways to bring Scandinavian culture to the community through virtual events. Norsk Høstfest in the Schools offered virtual presentations last year to schoolchildren in the area and that will likely continue this fall, said Davy. She also suggested that crafting or cooking classes could be offered virtually.

Høstfest organizers are always planning ahead to the next Høstfest and trying to honor traditions while also bringing fresh and exciting vendors, presenters and entertainers to the festival billed as the continent’s largest Scandinavian-American festival. They endeavor to appeal to younger audiences as well as to the core group of festival goers. In recent years the festival has become a three-generation attraction, with grandparents bringing their grandchildren to the Høstfest, said Davy.

“We don’t want anyone to ever say ‘been there, done that,’ “ said Davy.