The family-friendly Viking Festival features Viking-age crafts, costumes, weapons, mock battles, music, and games.  The event strives to be authentic to the Viking age with the slogan, “Real Vikings. No Horns.”  The popular conception of horned helmets originated with artists and an opera costume designer during the 19th century.  Festival-goers will be able to see and try on replicas of actual Viking helmets. 
The Crow Wing Viking Festival is family friendly!  Admission is capped at $46 for a family*.  Individual adult admission is $20, ages 5 to 17 is $8 and 4 and under are free.  Battle reenactments are historically realistic but still appropriate for all.
Tickets are available online and also at the gate.  Parking is free.  Gates open at 9:30 and the event runs until 4:00 p.m.
Food will be available on-site.
​Location: Below is a map to the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds.  The address is 2000 SE 13th St, Brainerd, MN 56401.
The Crow Wing County Fairgrounds does not allow pets.  Service animals specially trained to aid a person with a disability are welcome.  We have animals on site as part of the CWVF so any pets would be disruptive.

Danish Day Celebration 12-3pm

Schedule of Events:

11:00 Danish Day commences

11:30 Smørrebrød sandwich live auction

12:00 Lunch

12:30 National Anthem

          President's welcome and Consul remarks

          Dane of the Year

1:00 Live music

1:15 Children's activities

2:00 Social free time

3:00 Danish Day ends

FUN FUN FUN in the Minnesota sun!

Part 2:  How to build and manage a cooking fire in a fire pit and a grill.

Materials you’ll need:

• The stuff from the first session

• Sweet & Salty Sausage (p45), Fire Roasted Leeks, Baked Butter Oats (p44)

• Your fire lit and burning for about 30 minutes..

Topics:

• Cleaning before-during-after

• Cleaning your cookware copper, bronze, iron, ceramic

• Cleaning your surfaces

• Building a fire about cooking, not entertainment.  

• Do you really need that big fire?  Cooking coals vs. high flame entertainment.

• Fire ingredients; O2, ignition, fuel.  It's infrared radiation.

• More O2= hotter fire and greater fuel consumption

• 1 brick = 300-700F for 15-20 minutes per brick. Depends on brick ingredients

• Food burns above 500, so you don’t want the big heat.

• Smoke= incomplete combustion (water vapor, carbon, small particles not burned)

• https://trailblazerbbq.com/en-us/the-science-of-grilling/

• Daylight cooking is best.  Do you really want to chop and cook in the dark??

• Food safety

• 40-140F

• https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep-food-safe/4-steps-to-food-safety

• https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/index.html

• Time to cook!  Sweet & Salty Sausage (p45), Fire Roasted Leeks, Baked Butter Oats (p44)

Set Yourself Up For Success!

Time to start getting your stuff together for Saturday’s class!

Are you ready to help beta test our classes?  Good news!  I’m putting the finishing touches on getting my own space ready for you!  I thought you should know what to have on hand for this class, since you’ll be following along.  At the bottom of this post you’ll find the list of materials you’ll need.  

For the materials list, you don’t need the most bestest expensive top of the line gear.  Used, borrowed, homemade is fine.  Just remember:  SAFETY FIRST!  Most of the materials for this class are going to be used for the following two classes, and then on into other classes, so these won’t be a one time investment.

This first class is about being ready to cook outdoors with fire.  I’d like to dispel some myths about cooking outside, even in the winter.  DISCLAIMER:  For folks not living in Minnesota or other regions that have a “season” for grilling that doesn’t include winter, if you are a griller or fire cook, grilling season is any season.  Many stores have all season gilling sections.  The big difference for winter grilling is you wear a sweater and your beer stays cold.

Check your weather for Saturday at noon!  I’ll be outside all day, so I’ll be appropriately dressed in layers including magical merino wool.

The website will be posted on Saturday both on FB and on Modern Urban Viking Cooking.

Materials  you’ll need for three class sessions:

• A charcoal grill (a little table top or  hibachi grill is fine)

• Lump charcoal (usually a 15# bag) regular charcoal works, too.  Lump charcoal burns hotter longer per square inch of surface.  Menards, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Fleet Farm, and Tractor Supply have these.

• Fatwood (a fire starting material not necessary, but really nice)

• 3 TP tubes filled with dryer lint (fire starting material)

• Lighter or matches

• Lighter fluid

• Fire extinguisher (you need some in your house anyway)

• Squirt bottle with water in it

• 2-3 bundles of firewood (if you have a fire pit)

• Leather gloves or oven hot pads

• Long tongs for charcoal

• Fire iron and blow tube for fire pit (not necessary if you don’t have a fire pit or access to a fire pit)

• Long tongs for food

• Something to cook (something easy like brats or kebabs or veggies)

• Some kind of table or work surface you can put some of your materials on; a folding table, picnic table, or a folding chair.

• Bleach/disinfectant wipes

• Work surface or table