By Jessica Johansson, UW News Lab student

Are you primed for pickled herring? The Nordic Heritage Museum’s annual Northern Lights Auktion is happening Sunday, May 1 at and fish plays a prominent role this year.

"Some of the things that sell the best right in the early stages of the silent Auktion are fish. We have canned fish on the table that is donated by fisherman, which they have caught. Most of it is salmon and people come in and go for the fish right away. People are very annoyed if they don’t get there for it,” said Candace Miller, co-chair of the event.

The event, which is being held at the Grand Hyatt Ballroom in Seattle this year, started out small. "But now we have over 500 items to be auctioned off between the silent Auktion and the live Auktion,” Miller said.

Six silent sections start at 4:30 p.m. and accompany a champagne reception, including art, certificates, silver and a blue and a red section; a final section includes everything that came in too late to be assigned to a section.

The four-course meal begins with bread and pickled herring. Cost is $125 and typically about 300 people attend. Many will be wearing colorful native costumes, which is encouraged.

“We have a professional auctioneer that comes, and there are 45 live auction items,” Miller continued.

Hilda Cullen, communications and marketing director of the Nordic Heritage Museum, said they have “some amazing things this year,” including a private tour of the palace in Norway and a barbecue aboard the vessel used in the TV show, “The Deadliest Catch.”

“We have a Nolan Ryan signed baseball, which is a big deal. We have a couple things that are just priceless, like the boat we have which is a 200-year-old replica of a Viking boat and someone can bid to have four to six people actually sail in that boat across lake Union and have a wonderful lunch at Ivar's. That’s just the kind of experience you couldn’t get anywhere in the world,” Cullen said.

For the most part everything is donated to the auction; a few of the trips are purchased. There are trips to Washington, D.C., Iceland, and to the parliament in Oslo, among others. People can also bid on a visit with the Swedish consul for a gathering at his home with him and his wife. And Gov. Chris Gregoire donated invitations for two people to attend her annual holiday reception at the governor’s mansion.

“The Auktion raises money for the museum’s annual operating budget, so all the wonderful programs that go on here are supported by donations to the Auktion,” added Cullen.

“A lot of people will donate money instead of coming to the auction, and that alone is such a huge contribution to the auction,” added Anastasia Alto, events coordinator for the museum. “That totaled about $40,000, which helps us cover almost all the costs before it starts.”

A segment of the live Auktion supports the children’s programs of the Nordic Heritage Museum. "Fund a Need" received around $200,000 from last year's Auktion.

“One of the things that I find really amazing is that the Auktion is supported by the community in so many ways,” Cullen said. “Not only do they attend the dinner and bid on items, but it’s the community that is providing the donations and it’s the volunteers that are putting in so much of the hard work to make it possible.”

The Master of Ceremonies this year is Eric Johnson, KOMO-TV news anchor and sports director, who is of Swedish ancestry.

For more information go to the Nordic Heritage Museum’s website: www.nordicmuseum.org.