Grause said visitors should be pleasantly surprised by everything the Uffda Foundation has been able to accomplish with the festival in a matter of months.

Grause rallied fans of North American’s largest Scandinavian festival to form the Uffda Foundation and Fjord Folk Fest after the Norsk Hostfest board announced earlier this year the end of the event’s 47-year run in Minot.

The first Fjord Folk Fest will be held from Friday, Aug. 21, through Saturday, Aug. 22, from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. each day in Minot Municipal Auditorium.

Grause, of Bismarck, a former Miss Norsk Hostfest with 10 years of experience in event planning, said getting a new festival started wasn’t as challenging as establishing the nonprofit framework with a foundation.

Submitted Photo Enlarged kransekake replicas, representing the traditional Norwegian cake, are shown earlier this year, en route to new storage space before going on display at Fjord Folk Fest in August.

“The most unique thing has been knowing that we wanted to do this the right way from the beginning,” she said. “There’s been so much to learn with all those pieces in such a short amount of time. That has taken a lot of focus. On the event side of this, things have just fallen into place with people wanting and excited to build something new.”

The Uffda Foundation is operated by a five-member board of directors with a passion for seeing the festival continue, Grause said. She added she is grateful for those previously involved with Norsk Hostfest who have shared their insights and expertise.

Fjord Folk Fest also inherited much of the Hostfest decor that will be familiar to festival-goers. Grause said the foundation has more items than it will be able to display this first year, but people can expect to see different items come out of storage in future years.

The festival entertainment will be provided on two stages, from 9 a.m.-8 p.m., followed by a dance each Friday and Saturday evening until 10 p.m.

Among numerous entertainers will be Ryan Keplin (Fiddling Lefty), TOtS (Too Old to Stand), the Accordion Club, The Heritage Singers of Minot, Dakota Drifters, The Country Gentlemen and an acoustic-folk-rock-punk-pop duo from Grand Forks called Project: Constellation.

“These groups have been really great in working with us and being super supportive and mindful that we are starting from ground zero. We have to build this,” Grause said.

Between artisans, retail vendors, food vendors, the festival has just over 40 booths signed up so far, she said.

There will be artisans demonstrating crafts such as woodworking, rosemaling and pottery, along with educational classes in rosemaling and lefse and krumkake making. Vikings re-enactors will be there, although there won’t be space for the battles that were part of Hostfest, Grause said.

The Bunad Show will be back. The foundation is inviting anyone who previously was a part of the show or new individuals with bunads that tell a story to reach out for information on participating.

A children’s area will be headquarters for story time with the trolls, crafts such as simple rosemaling and Viking interactions.

A full schedule of events is expected to be released by the end of July. Advance tickets already are on sale. Tickets also will be available at the door.

Grause said the price point will be much lower than Hostfest, enabling more people to consider attending.

“We’re building this as a community,” Grause said. “Myself, the board of directors that we have with the Uffda Foundation, none of us are getting paid. All the donations, all the sponsorships, everything is going into building this thing from the ground up.”

The foundation continues to recruit festival volunteers and is open to talking with additional, potential sponsors, Grause said. A link exists at fjordfolkfest.com, on which people can find a list of volunteer opportunities and sign up.

In time, Grause envisions revived Scandinavian Hall of Fame inductions and renewed connections with Norway. She feels good about how the inaugural event is shaping up, though.

“It’s going to be something really special and memorable,” she said.