25th annual lutefisk supper brings over 600 people to Washburn

Posted 10/29/08 (Wed)

By Danielle Abbott

The recipe for a successful and enjoyable Sunday afternoon begins with over 500 pounds of lutefisk. Add into the mix 140 pounds of ground beef, carefully rolled into authentic meatballs, and scoop hundreds of pounds of warm mashed potatoes onto the side. Finish up the feast with hundreds of sheets of hand-made lefsa and homemade traditional Scandinavian and Norwegian pastries; and the meal is sure to please. These figures may look like the meal could feed an army, but instead it created a reason for 624 people from around the region to meet for a heartfelt gathering. Sunday, Oct. 26 the First Lutheran Church in Washburn hosted their 25th Annual Lutefisk/Meatball dinner. The obvious highlight of the event was the carefully prepared lutefisk, but the side items were prepared with just as much love and care. Dozens of congregation members volunteered their time and spent days getting ready for the gathering. One of the event’s organizers Brad Sheldon said, "The women of our church work really hard. If it wasn’t for them, we couldn’t pull this off."