Plans under way for resuming the Swedish Smörgåsbord

Plans are once again under way for resuming the long standing Swedish Smörgåsbord.  The local event has taken place at the Parish Hall in Swedesburg, IA on the first Thursday in December each year. That date this year will be December 1, 2022.

Smörgåsbord has been an annual event since 1938 except for a couple years during World War II when rationing limited access to necessary ingredients to prepare the feast and of course the most recent two years due to COVID. The menu consists of traditional Scandinavian dishes such as, Fruktsoppa (Fruit Soup), Bruna Bönor (Brown Beans), Svenska Köttbuller (Swedish Meatballs), Potatiskorv (Potato Sausage), and deserts Rigrynsgröt (Rice Pudding), Ostkaka (a special custard like cake), Äppelkaka (Apple Cake), Lingonberries (shipped here from Sweden), and many other dishes too numerous to list.  All are recipes that have been handed down through generations.  The event’s purpose is charitable.  Every year all profits from the event is given to mission work, either in this community, or to national and internationally related missions. Countless hours of volunteer work have gone into preparing this banquet in the past and in keeping it on the calendar for over eighty years. Tickets will, as in the past, go on sale at 9:00 a.m. at the Swedesburg Parish Hall on Monday, November 7, 2022.  A limited number of tickets will be sold for each seating.  Those seatings are 5:00, 6:00, and 7:00, and the cost is $20.00 each.

Unselfish volunteers are needed each year to ensure the event’s success. “Working Groups” have been the key to this success. The working group consists of individuals setting up tables and other “heavy” jobs to prepare the hall, scheduling music and singers for some traditional Swedish entertainment, decorating, ticket sales and the ever-popular Bit O Sweden where visitors can purchase Rye bread, Lingonberries or other baked goods to take home with them and enjoy another day. Last and equally important is the kitchen, dining room and serving area preparations.  Anyone interested in assisting any of these working groups, obtaining tickets, or for additional information contact the Swedesburg Evangelical Lutheran Church office at 319-254-2216 or office@swedesburglutheran.org .

The Swedish American Museum, located just a block east of the Parish Hall, will be open to further the Swedish experiences for visitors. Tickets for the event are also available at the Museum. Stop in or call 319-5-254-2317 to reserve tickets or for more information.