Cold Weather Can’t Stop Christmas Cheer at Peterson’s Beloved Holiday Festival

PETERSON — If the Grinch couldn’t stop Christmas from coming to Whoville, then winter cold wasn’t going to stop Christmas in Peterson 2025.

Despite daunting warnings of the cold, hundreds of people met inside several Peterson buildings on Saturday, December 13, to buy holiday goodies (some of them Norwegian recipes), meet with Santa, hear stories and listen to Norwegian instruments.

Gail Barnard-Boyum, a member of Friends of Peterson and a holiday gathering leader, said it began in 2012. “We wanted everyone to see our businesses and to celebrate the holiday,” she said. “We thought it would be fun to light up the town, light up the main street.”

A gingerbread village display drew lots of Christmas in Peterson admirers. (Photo by John Weiss)

The town’s population has grown from 199 to 234, she said. “I think our activities have attracted people” to the town along with the Root River, the very popular Root River State Trail and “very few mosquitoes,” she said.

She lamented that so many warnings of cold seemed to keep numbers down. For example, Tom Stocker, who drove a small tractor with an enclosed cab to pull a wagon to give rides, said he averaged maybe four people an hour. A horse-drawn wagon had similarly few riders, he said.

The two horses rest after pulling a wagon around Peterson to give people wagon rides. (Photo by John Weiss)

Yet by later in the four-hour festival, many tables, once laden with baked goodies, were nearly bare.

Two of the tables belonged to Diane Drinkall who featured many Norwegian goodies such as krumkake, hardtakke and rosettes as well as fruit soup. She also baked more American sweets.

“I love to bake, it’s my therapy,” Drinkall said. “It’s what I enjoy doing.” She has been baking “forever . . . I picked up the gene” from her mom, Arlene Jensen, and her grandmother, Emelia Wold.

There is a downside: “the hardest part about baking is leaving it alone, you can’t eat everything you bake.” Drinkall said she begins a few months before the festival and bakes every day that she can, freezing many of the treats.

Diane Drinkall helps her cousin Bruce Ness of Otsego, Minn., choose the right Norwegian treat at the 2025 Christmas in Peterson. (Photo by John Weiss)

Her daughter, Stephanie Drinkall from Marquette, Iowa, who was there to help, said she and her two siblings didn’t get the baking gene.

Her mother hasn’t given up. “I do it because I figure my daughters are going to come to me and say ‘how do you do this,’” she said. She said many younger people, even those of Norwegian ancestry, bought the more American offerings.

Her first customer was her cousin, Bruce Ness of Otsego, Minn. He loaded up on Norwegian treats then added a few American cookies. “I have to get out of here or I’ll go broke,” he said.

The biggest draw for food, however, was Grace Lutheran Church where lunch was served with American offerings, such as turkey sandwiches, but also rommegrot, a Norwegian pudding, often served with cinnamon.

Patti Dombrock said the event is a lot of work, but it’s fun and raises money for various things the church supports.

Susie Norby spoons more rommegrot into cups for lunch at Peterson’s Grace Lutheran Church. (Photo by John Weiss)

Susie Norby made the pudding and was also an organizer along with Valerie Hafleiet. Grace has been serving lunch for many years, and gets much of the food donated so profits stay there, Norby said.

“It’s kind of fun when it goes well” and it went well Saturday, she said. The crowd seemed slimmer, maybe because of sports, she said, but the eating area was full around noon and more and more people were in line.

While Dombrock was helping serve food, her husband, Tom Dombrock, dressed as the Grinch was serving up some scares to children. “Some days I feel bad, some days I feel good,” he said. “Today is a good day. I won’t steal any presents.”

Some children were indeed scared but some were friendly. He didn’t exactly volunteer but “they were looking for a Grinch and when no one raised their hand, I was selected,” he said.

Wyatt Manfull, 6, was more intent on listening to a storyteller’s tale than he was in talking to the Grinch. (Photo by John Weiss)

The American Legion also served up a warm place to visit with its auxiliary selling food and showing off about a dozen gingerbread buildings.

Deb Book, auxiliary chairwoman, said it was cold, but she showed a picture of what the goodies table from beginning to end with just a few goodies left at 1:30 p.m. They keep prices low and raise money to support veterans and also local causes “right now, the food shelf is really needy,” she said. “It’s a fundraiser and we want to participate in the event.”

Vendors also braved the cold, like Rushford teenager Destiny Corcoran, selling her paintings as “Paintings by Destiny.” She takes a photo she likes – she was working on a largemouth bass Saturday – draws it and then uses special markers to paint.

Destiny Corcoran, 16, of Rushford eyes a picture of a largemouth bass to create her own painting of the same. She was happy to be selling her “Paintings by Destiny” at Christmas in Peterson 2025. (Photo by John Weiss)

“I really like doing it,” Corcoran said. “It was pretty good last year, so I will continue doing it for sure – it makes people happy and it makes me happy.”

Perhaps the busiest place was City Hall where Bonnie Hulsing of Rushford told stories in the morning. “I act for fun, not professionally,” she said. “I’m a retired teacher and I miss interacting with the kids so it’s a good way to do it.”

Watching was Beth Manfull of Rushford with three grandchildren – Lenny Manfull, 1, Murphy Manfull, 3, and Millie Manfull, 4. “It’s very cold and we can’t go outside so we’re glad to be able to come and hear some good stories,” she said.

Beth Manfull of Rushford watched at storytelling time with three of her grandchildren. (Photo by John Weiss)

Later, it was crafts time with teens helping younger children color Christmas trees. Melissa Koenen of Peterson was there with her children Braelyn, 6, and Evelyn, 3. “It’s cold but it’s fun and the girls like it,” she said. “They love crafting.”

And, of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus were there (known to some as Gordy and Bonnie Elliott of Peterson).

“It’s fun to have many little kids,” Santa said. “I like it when it’s busy.” The children especially liked to ring Santa’s big bell, and Mrs. Claus said the best thing was seeing how excited children would get when seeing them.

Two of the excited children were Nova Pelzl, 4, and her brother, Callum Pelzl, 2. Their mom, Anna Pelzl said she was surprised at how many people really showed up.

Nova Pelzl, and Callum Pelzl, 2, were all smiles when getting their picture taken with Santa and Mrs. Claus. (Photo by John Weiss)

“I thought it would be a lot less because of the weather, so it’s good to see this many out,” Pelzl said. The festival itself “brings us together as a community.”

One of the most Norwegian events was at the Wen Inn where Janette Dragvold of rural Peterson played the Hardanger fiddle, which is the Norwegian national folk instrument, as well as the traditional fiddle.

“I have always been interested in traditional folk music,” she said. She also brought along three Scandinavian instruments – a nyckelharpa, an American style langeleik and a cantele.

Janette Dragvold and her collection of Scandinavian folk instruments. (Photos by John Weiss)

Playing has been a holiday tradition for her, she loves the area and loves to share music, Dragvold said.

When the festival was over, Barnard-Boyum was pleased. “We had a great day, there were a lot of people in town,” she said. “For a cold day, we had a very good turnout.”

For the 2026 event, she has warmer plans, she mused – like maybe a high temperature around 20, no wind and, of course, some snow.