Scandinavian Coffee preparations are underway
What is it about coffee? It seems to somehow cement people in social situations. How many times do we agree to meet up with family, friends or a date ‘for a cup of coffee’? And what is the time-honoured traditional means of fund-raising? The coffee morning. It seems that this is not just a British phenomenon either – another example of the bonding of humans over a cup of joe is the yearly ‘Scandinavian Coffee’ and preparations for the next gathering are underway.
So what is a Scandinavian Coffee? It is a variation on the British coffee morning, but the aim is to encourage the younger generations to develop an interest in traditional culture. The Bethesda Lutheran Church has already held this event over the past 4 years and this year’s is hoped to be another success. The focus will be on Scandinavian favourites such as local crafts, costumes and traditional culinary dishes.
Those who are preparing for the event get busy cooking traditional dishes – such as the potato lefse (a kind of pancake). The local press has reported that some 1,600 are to be made. In addition, other traditional dishes will be prepared, such as kringla, tea rings and spritz. There is good reason that so much effort is put into the foodie treats – last year the ‘bake shop’ sold out very quickly.
The 2010 Scandinavian Coffee also raised $11,000 for social organisations too, such as the Youth and Shelter Services and Home for Awhile. Let us hope they have similar success this year.