YOU BETCHA

You know you’re from Minnesota when one of the fall festivals featured is a Hotdish Hootenanny cookoff.

Whether it’s a church potluck or a family gathering, hotdish is a beloved comfort food featuring a hearty mix of ingredients. And now you can add a rotary fundraiser into the mix.

The Noon Rotary Club of Owatonna will have a cookoff of at least 23 hotdishes on Saturday, Oct. 11 from 4-7 p.m. at the Eagle’s Club in Owatonna. Guests will have the opportunity to sample all the dishes and vote for their favorite. Prizes will be awarded in at least three categories: Most Minnesotan, People’s Choice and Competitive Spirit.

Lonna Lysne, a member of the Rotary, said the concept was developed in January when it was decided to replace a different fundraiser, “Magic of Rotary,” that had started after the pandemic. “Owatonna and Blooming Prairie are known for successful fundraisers,” Lysne said. “We thought why not, what’s the worst that can happen?”

Lysne said the club wanted to brand itself with something new. “We are trying to be creative at base one to see what will happen. We hope it will become an annual event,” she said. 

As for Hotdish Hootenanny, Lysne paused and offered this explanation, “I think it’s a catchy phrase for a cookoff and very appropriate for Minnesota.

Some cooks are already lining up with their specialties, and Lysne said they are expecting more than tater tot and wild rice hot dishes. One of them is a tag-team consisting of Anne Peterson and Nancy Vaillancourt, local historians, who will produce a dish under the guise of “History Hags.” Another is Gar Olson, chief chef at the Eagle’s, who plans to make little Swedish meatballs wrapped in lefse. Mike Jensen, a Rotarian, plans to make a good old-fashioned goulash that has been in his family for decades.

“Some people are being secretive,” said Lysne, who has been on the Rotary for 26 years. “It’s challenging people in a real fun way. People are stepping out of the box.”

The Rotary hopes to generate $5,000 from the fundraiser for the Rotary’s youth programming. Jensen said the Rotary sponsors an exchange program, journals for third graders and leadership camps for youth.

“The focus is to raise money for our youth,” Lysne said.

In addition to the cookoff, the evening will feature cash bar, music and a silent auction of gift baskets. “There is a lot of creativity that can unfold with the silent auction,” Lysne said.