Children’s ski/walk event is Saturday at Decorah Prairie

DECORAH — Get outside and enjoy the winter at the annual Barneløpet, a non-competitive ski or walk event for the community’s youngest skiers, ages 3-13. This collaborative Vesterheim Museum and Sons of Norway event will be held at the Decorah Community Prairie on Saturday at 10 a.m., with registration beginning at 9:40 a.m. Skiers must provide their own skis.

Barneløpet is open to children of all skill levels and is a great event for the entire family. Those who complete the course will receive a medal and can warm by a fire while enjoying cocoa and homemade cookies.

Barneløpet is free thanks to support from Jon and Mary Hart of Decorah in memory of Kjell Arne Berntsen, and three Sons of Norway Lodges — Valdres #503 in Decorah, Heimbygda #376 in Lanesboro, Minn., and Valheim #364 in Spring Grove, Minn.

If there isn’t any snow, children can still walk through the tall prairie grasses.

Listen to local radio stations for possible cancellations.

Barneløpet, (pronounced BAR-nuh-lop-it) is Norwegian for “kids race” and Sons of Norway lodges all over the country sponsor Barneløpet events. It is modeled after the Barnebirke, a children’s cross-country ski race held each year as a part of the world-famous American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wis.

Barneløpet in Decorah is held annually to encourage kids and families to enjoy the winter snow season.

The Decorah Community Prairie is accessed by car at the south end of Ohio Street, near Aase Haugen Homes. The trail will be in a loop, with the start and finish at the site of the butterfly garden.

For more information about Barneløpet, contact Vesterheim at vesterheim.org or (563) 382-9681.