Last weekend was Story City’s annual “town festival” Scandinavian Days. It’s one of the best parts of small town living if you ask me. As someone who has tumbled between larger University towns and metropolitan areas, small town festivals like this one help to reconnect with rural America.
Story City is a town heavily influenced by the many Norwegian, Swedish and Danish immigrants who came to the northwest corner of Story County in the mid-to-late 1800s. This is reflected in the namesake of my town’s festival “Scandinavian Days.” While I have yet to feel full immersed in authentic Nordic tradition during these events, it is nice that you can dabble in some of the food-stuffs and culture that many of the natives here hold so dear.
One of the most revered aspects of Scandinavian Days and Story City culture as well is a food oddity called “Kumla.” It’s a baseball sized potato dumpling typically accompanied by ham, ham brother and butter. I’m a guy who loves to eat, and these truly live up to their reputation as belly-bombs. I can’t eat more than three. If you’re ever in the area, make sure to give them a whirl. While not my cup of tea, they certainly hearken back to the historic roots of this community.
The turnout this year was very healthy when held in comparison with some over the past decade. I think they did a nice job of promoting it. I know the weather certainly didn’t help.
Here’s some footage I took of the very traditional small town parade from last Saturday.
