We're asking for help on a couple of fronts:

•    Hyllningsfest 2017 seeks to measure the festival as compared to 2015. These measures are important to grant funding as well as decisions about the 2019 festival. For that reason, co-chair Eric Lundstrom is asking retailers to compare  their gross sales increases/decreases between 2017 and 2015's festivals. Please compare the whole Hyllningsfest 2017 week, Sunday, Oct. 8, and Saturday, Oct. 14, against 2015's H-fest week. The whole Hyllningfest 2015 week was Sunday, Oct. 4, through Saturday, Oct. 10.  Send the comparison -- just the percentage up or down between the two years, please -- to Eric at eric.lundstrom@gmail.com.

•     Lindsborg's Holiday Open House is 10-5 Saturday, Nov. 11, and the theme for the season is "Holiday Magic...  Stay and Play."  At the open house, all can play a new scavenger hunt for tomtes around the town and earn chances to win in a drawing for a Lindsborg shopping spree. Also earn chances to win in the drawings by making purchases of $30 or $50 at participating locations. Find snacking, specials of the day in restaurants and coffee shops, in-store drawings, and more. How can you get involved? Donate $50 in gifts or gift certificates that can be bundled into the shopping spree baskets. It's that simple. Or bump some bucks toward Lindsborg's holiday print and flyer advertising through the season. Drop off certificates, checks or items at Small World Gallery. In the meantime, do keep up with November and December at www.visitlindsborg.com or the Facebook pages of Visit Lindsborg or Christmas in Lindsborg. Please like and share.
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      Are windows in structures the windows to a town's soul? Yes. One ingredient to perceptions of a neighborhood or town is what drivers, bikers and walkers can see at a distance of windows in business districts and households alike. Things such as glow, personality, cleanliness, and so forth. (Other curb appeal matters, too, of course -- lighting, sidewalks, signage, decor and all the rest.) Lindsborg's business districts have amped up their window appeal a lot in the last few years, especially during Nov. and Dec. And we thank you for that, one and all.
      This year, we'd encourage the decoration of windows for the holiday season by Nov. 1 -- or at least before 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10. That's because at the start of Makers Street Art Walk at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, we'd like you to unveil all or part of your window display for the season. We suggest you cover all or part of the window with a drape or sign that says "Big Reveal 5 p.m. Nov. 10."  If you'd like to connect with an artist or designer to help with your window design, please contact Deb Briggs at Trollslanda Toy Store at debbriggs@gmail.com.
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       Final headline:  Ad Hops, the monthly social hour of the Lindsborg Ad Hoc Roundtable, is from 5:30 to 6:30 tonight, Oct. 25, at The Stuga. Dew drop in.

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We hope Lindsborg families are set to enjoy Halloween 2017 because options abound this Tuesday, Oct. 31.
     Please be aware of new and returning features this year:
      New:  Ahoy, Captain Sugar Beard! Find the Capt'n buying unwanted candy at $1 per pound in gold doubloons (up to $200 for the night) from 7:30-9 p.m. Oct. 31 at Soderstrom Elementary's east entrance. Collected candy will be shared with the Fort Riley USO team. Thank you to Lindsborg Community Hospital and First Bank Kansas -- and to that clever Captain.
       Back in the lineup:  The Witches Wail at American Legion Post 140, 524 E. State St., is on this year. Little goblins may stop by for hot dogs and treats from 6 to 8 p.m.  At 9 p.m., the City will sound emergency sirens known locally as the witches wail.  It's a signal that all trick or treaters should be home for the night. Thanks to everyone at Post 140!
       Soderstrom downtown trick or treating:  It is a years-long custom for pre-K through 4th graders at Soderstrom Elementary to parade in costume in the downtown area each year. This year, the parade will start at 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31. If merchants wish to hand out treats, plan please for 309 children. This year, merchants may hand treats individually to each child -- OR they may pre-bag the correct number for each classroom as has been requested in past years.  The school believes that one reason to return to individually handing the treats:  It's a good opportunity for students to practice using those magic words, please and thank you. If you want to pre-bag, contact Kathy Richardson, who will have classroom counts available at midweek.  Meanwhile, we hope that parents and grandparents and other family members will join in the fun.  Bring seating and hang out.
      Early birds:  The Sprout House gang of 14 students will be parading on Main Street sidewalks starting at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31. Director Christy Mai says it's fine to go light on candy and heavy on smiles, waves and greetings to each of the cuties as they go by.  It's worth coming in a bit early if your opening starts at 10 a.m.
    And at Bethany Home:  Residents and staff at Bethany Homes love to see all the kids on parade through their halls. The event is equally popular with parents and kids for one-stop, all-under-one-roof fun. Bethany Home offers treats for all starting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31. Thanks to everyone at Bethany Home for continuing a wonderful tradition. 
     And clearly in the "treat" category is Bethany College's Luther 500 campus-wide day of service, which also happens to be on Tuesday, Oct. 31. Luther 500 celebrates the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's posting his theses on the Wittenberg Cathedral door. Please greet any student you see lending a hand that day. We are grateful for their help.

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​Bethany Football celebrates its third annual Mom’s Weekend next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 27-28. Coordinator Joslin Hubbard, spouse of Coach Paul Hubbard, has grown this event every year; between 80 and 100+ football moms and mom figures are expected to take part.  Go, Joslin!
     Adding to the excitement: Bethany Swedes play long-time rival Kansas Wesleyan at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. The  Swedes go into the game with a 5-2 record and near-full stands at home.  So it will be a colorful and busy weekend all around.
     Anyone can celebrate players, their moms and the football program. Here's how:
     1. Chip in a gift certificate or merchandise for raffle baskets. (No need to wrap; we will put baskets together.) Items will be raffled off at a reception at Sandzen Gallery on Friday night with all proceeds benefitting Bethany Football. 
     2. Donate items for swag bags -- flyers, coupons, or trinkets.  Joslin and crew will put them into bags to be handed out to moms. We will need 100+ items. 
     3. Donate a monetary amount. Checks to Bethany Football. Money will help cover the cost of meals, reception, t-shirts, and general spoiling of our mommas. 
     Businesses, please send Joslin your business name and hours of operation next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. She will  make a flyer and encourage ladies to check you out. If businesses would be able to remain open until 8 p.m. Friday, that would allow moms to shop. Please let Joslin know about that, too.  And finally, please show your BC colors this weekend in windows, outdoors and inside.
     Deadline is 3 p.m. Thursday, 10.26.17.  Contact Joslin  at hubbardjp@bethanylb.edu or call/text at 785-317-1768.
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•     This coming Wednesday is Ad Hops Wednesday, y'all --  5:30-6:30  p.m. 10/25 at The Stuga. The Ad Hoc Roundtable gathers every fourth Wednesday with no agenda other than kicking back with friends and associates. Everyone is welcome.
•     Info is being shared Ad Hoc-style in new strategic planning discussions among Lindsborg's major employers and key human service organizations. The object: share the strategic plans in various organizations and discuss whether parts of these plans may benefit from partnerships. Corey Peterson, Becky Anderson, Mike Dreier and David Hay are involved in these discussions -- wearing Ad Hoc hats and /or other community hats. More to come.     
 •     A reminder:  The leaves, they are a' fallin', and we know it takes village to properly dispose of/compost them. Bottom line: Please gather leaves for removal to composting sites. Please avoid blowing/sweeping leaves into gutters. Please avoid using downtown area trash receptacles for leaf disposal. Composting is the answer.

​Hi everyone,
     The Ad Hoc Roundtable spent its valuable hour together last Monday talking about the many accomplishments of Svensk Hyllningsfest 2017. We also brainstormed ways to refine the festival for 2019, which is the community's sesquicentennial year.
     We made a list to be shared with the Hyllningsfest Committee, an all-volunteer group that weaves festival planning into their work and family lives over two years. We thank everyone on this committee, sincerely. We thank the hundreds of volunteers who had a hand in the festival in so many ways.
     We encourage you to look back at the 2017 festival, too, and jot down strengths and weaknesses as you experienced them or heard about them. Then brainstorm new features, reinventions or possible solutions for the committee to consider. 
    To share ideas with the committee, please direct emails to co-chairmen John Hawk (JHawk@maswu.org) and Eric Lundstrom (eric.lundstrom@gmail.com).  This way, all ideas get into the stream of discussions.

​Hello, everybody:
     Tents, bleachers, electrical service and other festival necessities start rolling into the downtown area Wednesday, 10.11.17.  Heads up too all  as our normal routes and parking places temporarily change.
    Here's a reminder to downtown businesses and property owners that the Svensk Hyllningsfest Committee is granted a blanket license to the use of sidewalks during the festival. This means promotions or vending on sidewalks must be given advance permission by the committee. This is a long-time practice meant to assure room and safety for pedestrians during this extra busy time.
    If you have even one hour to volunteer at the festival, please contact Hyllningsfest Committee member Joyce Pigge as soon as possible. It takes a village to celebrate Lindsborg.
     A couple of ongoing discussions at the Monday morning gatherings:
     1.)  First-time visitor questions continue to crop up regularly about "finding" downtown.  One visitor asked specifically to see the manager of a local business to say this:  You do a great job getting us off the highway.  But then we're on our own to find downtown. What's up with that?
      2.) *All* volunteers make Lindsborg's life and times richer --  especially Karmon Almquist and Merle Larson and the City of Lindsborg around the holiday season. As Ad Hoc explores the costs and benefits of contracting for the job of holiday lighting, we are finding a more precise value of what these folks do amid their many other responsibilities. It involves time, materials, lift equipment, physical effort, and certain amount of risk. Oh, yes  -- and  thousands of feet of lighting strands if we were to *fully* festoon downtown trees and the Old Mill Bridge, all of which must be maintained and replaced. Please be thinking:  What is a reasonable way forward? How could we include the Harrison-Cole business district? If the community wants festive holiday lighting, how can we organize around that in a reliable, year-to-year way?
* * *
     As we celebrate Svensk Hyllningsfest and Bethany College Homecoming this weekend, we also celebrate the generosity of the late David J. Nutt. Having grown up in Lindsborg, Mr.Nutt served in World War II, was educated and worked as an engineer, and did well with his investments. From his home in California in recent years, Mr. Nutt vividly remembered the kindnesses that were shown to him and his family back in his hometown. If you have not heard the details revealed yesterday of Mr. Nutt's extraordinary $15 million gift to our community, go here: http://www.salina.com/news/20171009/3-lindsborg-organizations-get-total-of-15-million-from-david-j-nutt-trust.
      Meditations about the meaning of this gift will continue far into the future. In the meantime, we offer this simple prayer: May the people of Lindsborg *continue* to embody the culture of kindness, education, and care that Mr. Nutt recognized. Thank you, sir.

​•  Have you seen DalaTown, Lindsborg's new lifestyle magazine? DalaTown can be found at https://www.dalatown.com -- as well as on social media including Facebook and Twitter.  
     The multi-talented Garretson family plays the role of editors, videographers, photographers and writers at DalaTown. Their more-is-more aim: add to the flow of background stories, videos and photographs about Lindsborg's seemingly endless cup of interesting people and ideas. If you have story suggestions for DalaTown, do email hellodala@dalatown.com. 
     •  On a Svensk Hyllningsfest note:  Chief Tim Berggren asked at the most recent City Council meeting for all of us -- not just businesses -- to declutter, clean and paint outdoors  in advance of the festival. It's a biennial deadline for us all, and we hope that everyone will do their part. Thanks, Chief.
     •  On another festival matter: The Methodist Church *will not be able* to offer a festival lunch this year.  Meanwhile, the Lindsborg Swedish Folk Dancers *will be able* to serve a lunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Evangelical Covenant Church just a couple blocks off Main Street on Lincoln.  The dancers and their families will kindly serve a meal of Swedish-inspired flavors -- lingonberry barbecue pork sandwiches, dill potatoes, Swedish-style coleslaw, beverages,  and almond cakes with lingonberries for dessert -- all for $10.  Thanks, dancers and families! 
      •  Cheers to Bethany College and its long-time rival, Kansas Wesleyan University.  The two have joined together to begin a rivalry competition series. Each will score points in each of the 109 sports that the two institutions sponsor, as well as for community service projects. A name for this competition series is now being selected, and you can vote for your favorite name from Oct. 6 to 10 on either school's athletics department Twitter account. The winning name will be announced prior to Saturday, Oct. 28. On that date, the two football teams will meet in Lindsborg in a 1:30 p.m. game and the men's and women's soccer teams will clash in Salina with matches beginning at 5 and 7 p.m.  No matter the name, it's a great move.  Thanks, all.
     •  Reminder:  the deadline for nominating work projects for Bethany College's Luther 500 day of community service is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6.
     •  The Ad Hoc group is working toward getting bids for jobs that most businesses need:  window washing, power-washing, leaf pickup, sidewalk blowing, snow removal and holiday lighting placement. The number of participating businesses will help determine fees, just as in some of our past advertising cooperatives.  If you have an idea for a local bidder or would like consider being a business receiving services as part of a consortium, please contact Mike Dreier at Fuqua Insurance at miked@fuquainsurance.com.  As always, we thank Mike for helping. More on this as details become available

​In a show of strength and purpose, all Bethany College students are offering themselves in community service next Tuesday, Oct. 31.
      They do it in honor of the 500th anniversary of the day that Martin Luther is believed to have nailed his 95 Reformation theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. 
     And they do it for *all* businesses and residents of Lindsborg. This means you, your family, neighbors and friends.
     Painting? Leaf gathering? Moving furniture? Weatherizing?    Think of all the jobs that would go easier or would get bumped up on the agenda if you could work alongside younger others. 
     And not just you. Also your neighbors who may not hear about this offer and those not as vocal about their needs and hopes. This is the moment to act.
   Here's Bethany College's assistant dean of students Caitlin Rethorst to explain:
     "On this Luther 500 Day of Service, Bethany students will be available to serve in two shifts (8 to 10:30 a.m. and 1 to 5  p.m.) at both businesses and private homes in the community. If your business or your neighbor has a small project that needs completed within the above timeframes, then please fill out the nomination/application form at the link below.
     "At this time, we’re calling for worksites where we can truly enact Bethany’s core values of Integrity, Hospitality, Community, Servant Leadership, Sustainability, and Excellence. The deadline for applying to be a worksite is 5 p.m. Friday, October 6.
     "As you’re completing the application form, please think about how many volunteers you will need to successfully complete your project. Projects that can be completed within the timeframes above are encouraged; however, other project ideas are welcome. We will follow up with all entries.
     "Additionally, if you nominate a private homesite, we will reach out to that individual to gather more information. Here are project description examples and ideas, as well as projects to avoid:
http://tinyurl.com/BethanyLuther500ProjectIdeas
     "When thinking about projects, consider your own supplies and materials. Businesses are expected to supply their own materials for project completion. Non-profit companies and private homesites may receive assistance for materials. Please keep in mind the budgetary restrictions of the Luther 500 Day of Service when requesting supplies, and thoroughly complete the application form below.
     "Please complete this application/nomination to submit your worksite needs. You may submit the form more than once, if submitting multiple worksites: http://tinyurl.com/BethanyLuther500
If you'd like to contact Caitlin, see her at Presser Hall 102, call 785-227-3380, ext. 8274, or email  rethorstcr@bethanylb.edu.

If students are coming to help, please plan to work or be  alongside them. It feels so good to be reminded that BC students represent a smart, able and kind generation that will, most certainly, change our world.