103rd annual event includes Norwegian bake sale
Lutefisk lovers will want to mark Saturday, Oct. 16, on their calendar.
Northland Lutheran Church will host the 103rd annual lutefisk supper and Norwegian bake and craft sale. The event will be held from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the church, located about nine miles north of Iola at N9880 State Highway 49.
The supper celebrates the rich Norwegian heritage of the many families who helped settle the rural rolling lands of the Iola area. Norwegian church members will once again bring their culinary expertise to prepare a buffet style supper to include lutefisk, torsk (boiled cod), meatballs, mashed potatoes, gravy, lefse, buttered carrots, cole slaw and cranberries. Dessert will include such traditional Norwegian pastries as rosettes, sandbakkels, krumkakes and fattigmann cookies.
All of the food is prepared by church members and supporters, with the lutefisk and torsk prepared the day of the event on location. Cosponsored by Gagas Farms, attendees can also expect farm-fresh potatoes.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $4 for ages 6-12 and free for ages 5 and under.
The church started the supper tradition in 1915, missing only three years, due to World War I, a flu epidemic and COVID-19. Chicken was originally served before the supper turned to more traditional Norwegian cuisine.
The church usually prepares an average of 500 pounds of lutefisk, 300 pounds of potatoes and 300 pounds of meatballs and goes through about 36 cases of lefse, a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread. Lutefisk is white codfish prepared according to Norwegian custom, served with plenty of melted butter. Torsk was added to the menu four years ago.
Northland Lutheran Church has served members and visitors from its rural location in Northland since 1908 and is affiliated with Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC).
Services are held at 10 a.m. every Sunday, with Sunday school starting at 9 a.m. Call 715-445-2956 or visit NorthlandChurchIola.com the church’s Facebook page for more information.