MDN File Photo Jeanne Brekke stands, in 2022, next to one of the 36 trolls she painted in the late 1990s. Two similar trolls are being sold at an auction of Norsk Hostfest items.

Norsk Hostfest’s cultural memorabilia and other items are going on the auction block.

McLaughlin Auctioneers has announced an online liquidation auction for the complete inventory of Minot’s Norsk Hostfest, long recognized as North America’s largest Scandinavian cultural festival. The auction is open to the public and conducted entirely online through McLaughlin Auctioneers’ bidding platform at www.mc-bid.com. Bidding closes Wednesday, May 6, at 6 p.m.

The auction follows the announcement by the Hostfest board of directors on Jan. 26 that the festival would not continue. The festival was founded in 1978 by the late Chester Reiten and a group of friends united by their passion for Nordic heritage. The board cited rising operational costs and attendance levels that have not returned to pre-pandemic levels as the primary factors in the decision.

For more than four decades, the festival drew millions of attendees to Minot to celebrate Scandinavian culture through music, art, food and community.

“This is an opportunity unlike any other,” said Jim McLaughlin of McLaughlin Auctioneers in the announcement. “The assets from Norsk Hostfest represent 47 years of investment in a world-class festival — high-quality commercial equipment, irreplaceable folk art and cultural artifacts, brand-new merchandise and event production gear. For many bidders, this will be a chance to own a piece of Hostfest heritage and give these beloved items a new home. We are honored to steward this liquidation on behalf of the Norsk Hostfest Association.”

All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Hostfest Heritage Foundation.

The foundation had been under the direction of Norsk Hostfest and the Scandinavian Heritage Association, but with Norsk Hostfest’s dissolution, the foundation will be directed by the Scandinavian Heritage Association going forward, according to information from the association. The name of the foundation is not changing at this time due to its listing in some wills, trusts and estates. Funds held by the foundation or collected in the future will be assets available for the Scandinavian Heritage Association to use in promoting Scandinavian culture.

Among sale items highlighted by the auctioneer include:

– a 6-foot-diameter Leif Erikson Millennium Hall medallion, featuring a detailed wax bust of the Norse explorer.

– a 7-foot-tall, custom-carved wood column by Norwegian-American artist Steinar Karlsen, created for the festival in 2001 and titled “The Miracle Mart Tree of Sustenance.”

– a 94-inch hand-engraved Viking warrior wall panel.

– a pair of 7-foot, hand-painted troll cutouts.

– a large hand-painted folk art wooden storage chest.

These are considered one-of-a-kind pieces with no known equivalent available on the secondary market, according to the auction house.

In addition to cultural items, the sale includes a full complement of commercial-grade food service equipment sourced directly from the festival’s kitchen operations, including a Vulcan VC4ED propane convection oven, Doyon SM300 30-quart planetary mixer, True Manufacturing ODM-69 three-door beverage cooler, Continental commercial upright refrigerator, BUNN Dual TF DBC commercial coffee brewer, a 113-inch three-compartment stainless steel sink, stainless work tables, NSF shelving, and extensive cookware and utensils from brands including Victorinox and Vollrath.

The sale includes industrial and material handling equipment, such as a 1989 Toyota 3FG25 dual-fuel forklift, rated at 5,500 lbs capacity; a heavy-duty manual pallet jack; a White Lightning Ultra1800 professional studio strobe lighting kit (three heads, umbrellas, and hard case); fiberglass and aluminum step ladders; an ANSI-rated, five-step industrial rolling safety ladder; stage trusses; heavy-duty cable protectors; and a 30-inch industrial drum fan.

Retail fixtures and furniture include a double-sided slatwall gondola shelving unit, wooden retail counter, display mannequins, full-length, freestanding mirror, bar stools, dining tables and benches, and a variety of decorative and display furniture.