Guest Column: Nordicfest hoping to stay alive

If Nordicfest is one of the community events you enjoy, and you want it to be here for years to come, now is the time to put your thoughts into action!

Without immediate community involvement, Nordicfest will say farewell after celebrating 25 wonderful years.

I would like to personally extend a huge thank you to our outgoing board members who stuck with us last year after having already retired.

• John Desch, without whom we would be completely lost … on so many levels.

• Linda Gerard, who has served on the board for many years in various positions and who is always willing both personally and through the Venture Inn to give so much to our organization.

• Diane Hoover, who in addition to agreeing to stay on an extra year as secretary graciously took up the reigns of our parade at the last minute and made it a success.

• Donna Futrell, who stayed on an extra year to make sure the food booths came off without a hitch and for making the beautiful cake to honor our past royalty.

You are all awesome! Thank you also to our other outgoing board members – Peggy Oelberg, Gene Auge and Robin Everett, who have retired from their positions after years of dedicated service.   

As for our remaining board members, this is the time of year when we dive headlong into the details for this year’s upcoming festival. A theme is chosen, fundraising efforts begin, correspondence goes out to crafters, food vendors and entertainers. Applications are sent to high school students looking to compete for the Junior Royalty scholarships.

Each board position has its own tasks that are completed and monthly meetings bring us together to discuss our progress and “where do we go from here?” Meetings are one to two hours each on the first Tuesday of each month and the time involved during Nordicfest itself. Not so much to ask is it really?

This will be my third year on the board and it has been a whole lot of fun.

I am saddened to think our community may lose this valuable treasure. So many organizations make most of their operating funds during Nordicfest, not to mention the benefit to the rest of the merchants in town. Libby won’t be the same without Nordicfest in September.   

 We currently have openings that must be filled by Jan. 15 in order to proceed with planning this year’s event. A public meeting will be held on Jan. 15 at 6 p.m., at the Venture Inn to appoint new board members. Be there if you are interested in being on the board.

Our first regularly scheduled meeting is set for Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. We must fill these eight key positions – vice president, secretary, parade, outdoor entertainment, fundraising, royalty/info booth, public relations, souvenirs and kids’ entertainment.

 If you have further questions or want to volunteer, but can’t be at the Jan. 15 meeting, please contact me at allyfrost@gmail.com or 293-8970. You may also contact Lisa Oedewaldt at loedewaldt@libby.org or 406-334-0500.

(Ally Frost is a volunteer with Libby Nordicfest).