The food festival "Utmarkens grøde" will be held for the 3rd time on October 10, 2026 at Narvik library. The festival is part of the public education project "Our food - it's what we live by", which Else Samuelsen, with a background from the education "Sustainable food experiences" at Nordland Vocational School, and library director Marit Edvardsen started up at Narvik library in 2024.
Program:
11.00-11.10: Opening of the food festival - welcome and presentation of the program
11.10 - 11.30: Introduction by Eva Narten Høberg
Theme: Food as an essential part of preparedness
11.30-12.15 1st panel discussion
Theme: Access to short-traveled local ingredients
Panelists: Bakkan Gård, Vegard Stormo, Kenneth Kuraas
12.15 - 13.15: Sales stalls and tastings outside
13.15 -14.00: 2nd panel discussion
Theme: Practical food knowledge and food culture
Panelists: Eva Narten Høberg, Halvar Ellingsen, Maret Ravdna Buljo
14.00 - 16.00: Sales stalls and tastings outside
The theme for the Our Food project and this year's Utmarkens Grøde festival is:
Highlighting the availability of local ingredients and local food production in the region
Inspire to cook your own food based on Norwegian ingredients (increased self-preparedness)
Practical food knowledge and foraging
Critical thinking about Norwegian food production
Good, sustainable food choices
Self-sufficiency and short-distance food have taken on a new dimension in our time. With the food festival Utmarkens grø, we want to focus on public education about the resources we have in the local area. The goal is to highlight the wide range of local ingredients that are produced, harvested and gathered in the outback in the northern Norwegian nature in a sustainable way. Through the festival, we want to convey knowledge about who produces our food, and give the audience access to local ingredients.
Among this year's exhibitors you will find:
Dalheim Farm from Kvæfjord
Bakkan Farm from Ballangen
The Reindeer Slaughterhouse award
Saghaugen Farm from Skjomen
Aimee's farm from Valberg in Lofoten
Sandsøy gold from Sandsøy outside Harstad
Something in Gjære from Mo i Rana
Seljemo Farm from Senja
Lofoten Homemade - potato lefse from Stamsund
Trine Paulsen - local mushroom and berry gatherer from Narvik
The flock at Bjerkelund - eggs from Virak
JQr Artisan bakery from Narvik
Arctic Candy from Narvik
Kuraas - meat processor in Narvik through 4 generations
-and many more!
Here you will find everything that your palate and heart can desire, while at the same time you get the opportunity to learn about how each producer runs their business.
Panel discussion on practical food knowledge:
As a central part of the festival, we arrange a very exciting panel discussion with producers and processors from the region. The panel discussion will be opened by Eva Narten Høberg from Nibio, and led by Kristoffer Torheim, creator of the podcast "Thank you for the food" Participants in this conversation are skilled local farmers, well-known local chefs and professional food communicators.
Like last year, we will have a food tent outside the library where the local restaurants hand out delicious tastings based on ingredients from our own region!
There will be volunteers in the festival area who facilitate and contribute to both the exhibitors and the audience having an educational and tasteful time at the library.
We organize this festival for the locals, and we hope it will inspire and excite most people, both old and young.
Everyone is warmly welcome!
