Lutefisk and lefse dinner is Feb. 16
LOREN BENOIT/Press file From left, June Gilseth, Judy Edwards and Dave Jacobson prepare meatballs for the lutefisk and lefse dinner at Trinity Lutheran Church last February. This year’s event is Feb. 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m at Trinity Lutheran. The fee for adults is $20. Youths age 6 to 17 are admitted for $10.
The local Sons of Norway lodge invites the public to sample traditional Norwegian food and culture at the annual lutefisk and lefse dinner on Saturday, Feb. 16.
“We’re not aware of anyone else in the county who does a dinner like this,” said Barbara Rostad, cultural director for the local lodge.
Made from dried whitefish treated with lye, lutefisk isn’t to everyone’s taste. However, Rostad noted, other foods will also be served, including lefse (a soft Norwegian flatbread), meatballs, potatoes, carrots, pickled beets and sandbakkels (Norwegian sugar cookies) with ice cream.
“It’s wonderful food,” Rostad said. “We’re good cooks.”
The dinner is an opportunity for people with Norwegian heritage to stay in touch with their cultural roots, as well as a chance for others to experience Norwegian culture.
“It goes beyond the traditions started by the Norwegians who came here from Norway,” Rostad said. She added that Americans with Norwegian heritage tend to eat more lutefisk than people in Norway do. “It has become a tradition in the United States among Norwegian people staying in touch with their heritage.”
The lutefisk and lefse dinner will be Saturday, Feb. 16 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Coeur d’Alene, 812 N. Fifth St.
To attend the dinner, reservations must be made by Tuesday, Feb. 12. The fee for adults is $20, youths age 6 to 17 pay $10. Children 5 years old and younger are free. The family fee for parents and their youths is $50.
There will be three seatings: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 1 to 2 p.m. and 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Dinner is served buffet-style. Lutefisk and lefse will also be available for sale.
To reserve a place, contact Marge Johnson at 208-772-2903 or 208-661-8292 and provide a name, phone number, preferred seating and number of people in the party.