On ‘Alt for Norge,’ Americans compete
to meet long-lost family
Because his great-grandfather came to America from Norway, Greg Larsen was able to go on an amazing journey — to Norway.
Andrew Hegreberg was born on an island off the coast of the Stavanger Peninsula in the southwest part of Norway. When he came to America, he first lived near Minot, N.D., where he built a sod home.
Moving to Minnesota brought him closer to trees and lakes. Andrew settled near Spicer, in the Wilmar region, when his son Clarence was 15. Eventually Clarence took over the farm, got married and raised a family, and lived there the rest of his life.
Clarence’s wife, Stella Olson Hegreberg, also had Norwegian parents. Clarence and Stella were Greg Larsen’s grandparents. When he was growing up, they spoke Norwegian at home. Their farm is where Larsen spent every Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and every third week in June.
The chance to find out more about his Norwegian heritage led Larsen to “Alt for Norge” (All for Norway, the country’s royal motto). On this award-winning TV show, Americans of Norwegian descent compete for a chance to meet their Norwegian relatives.
The winners in Seasons 1 to 3, 2010 to 2012, were from Washington, Colorado (a Wisconsin native) and Indiana.
The 12 contestants on Season 4 of the popular Norwegian reality TV show, ‘Alt for Norge.’ The winner meets his or her relatives in Norway and receives a cash prize.
Larsen was selected to compete in Season 4. He spent almost seven weeks living in Oslo last spring and summer. For each episode the competitors were taken to a location in Norway and challenged to complete a task.
At the beginning there were 12 young men and women. They lived together, spent all their time together, became friends. Then, after each episode, one was sent home.
Larsen lasted for seven of the 10 episodes. “It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he said. He was voted out at the end of the pirate ship episode, filmed at a theme park.
“I have a degree in theatre, I’m a musician, I do a lot of stage work,” he said. “The one where I went home, I was up against Eric, who has a huge mustache and a huge personality, and Lïv, a gymnast who did cartwheels. The audience was 5-year-old kids.”
Larsen survived several weeks on the show, but was voted off the pirate ship by the 5-year-old judges of Episode 7.
Larsen said his performance was good — he even stole the captain’s hat — but his competitors “charmed those kids.”
In the final standings, Eric was second and Lïv third.
All the contestants were smart and could handle the physical challenges presented, Larsen said, but winning was not determined solely by mental or physical ability.
The most physically gifted person, he said, played college basketball at St. Cloud State. He was sent home on May 17, Norway Constitution Day, when girls typically braid their hair. The challenge that day was to braid a girl’s hair, and the basketball star was the slowest. The winner that day was a hair stylist.
Larsen said the episode filmed above the Arctic circle, on the Island of Lofoten, was one of the most intense experiences of his life. The challenge was a quiz about Viking history, which they had studied the previous week. “I was up until 1:00 in the morning reading this book” in preparation for the quiz, he said. The losers of a team competition had to face each other individually, and in the Viking fashion: two opponents go to an island, and only one returns.
In the 24-hour daylight, the sunlight was powerful. “After a tie, the next person to answer either continues or goes home,” he said. “When I got into the boat to be rowed back, there was no chance to say goodbye. I walked away safe and he didn’t. We waved goodbye from the mainland and got on the bus to go back to Oslo.”
The ultimate winner was Berit Rodsater from California. The last 10 minutes of the final episode showed her enjoying a family reunion with her distant relatives from Norway.
Each contestant was given a book of information about their Norwegian ancestry. After Season 4 ended, four contestants have returned to Norway to meet the family they learned about through the show. Larsen looks forward to doing the same.
“I have a wife and two kids. I’ll get back. I have no doubt about that,” he said.
Larsen grew up in Linwood. After graduating from Forest Lake High School in 1988, he earned a bachelor’s degree in theater studies from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
He discovered his love of theater after his freshman year of college, when he volunteered at Holden Villages, a Lutheran Retreat Center in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington. It was there that he learned to play guitar.
Larsen recording a country song in a Nashville studio.
Now Larsen is a singer/songwriter, author of the book “Happy as Humanly Possible,” and seminar leader.
“I’ve always been optimistic and outgoing,” he said. During his junior year he studied in England, and over Easter break went to India. “That turned me on to meditation,” he said. “That has helped immensely.”
Larsen’s wife Sarah has a holistic medicine practice in Los Angeles, where they home-school their children, Jasmine (9) and Tyler (7). Larsen also does the marketing and bookkeeping for the doctor’s office.
They have lived in Nashville, a great place to earn a living as a country musician, but returned to Los Angeles because of Sarah’s success there.
Greg Larson with his family, wife Sarah, daughter Jasmine and son Tyler.
Larsen uses his songs in his talks on being present in the moment and developing healthy relationships. He recently recorded three new songs.
Larsen said being in Norway has made him think about the hardships his ancestors endured. Living in a sod home in North Dakota was “no picnic in the park,” he said. “I can’t even imagine making a living doing what he did.”
On top of that was the total break from parents and homeland. “Andrew never saw his father again,” he said. “His son, my grandfather, never met his grandpa. All these things really hit home, how brave and strong these people were.”
The other side of the story he heard from the filming crew, who said their great-grandparents lost touch of the siblings who went to America.
“It never dawned on me,” Larsen said, that today’s Norwegians may be experiencing the same situation as him, but in reverse.
His Norwegian adventure happened the year after the Hegreberg family farm was sold and his mother, who was born there, died of cancer.
The timing made his trip especially moving, he said. While in Norway he learned to say “Tusen takk” — “A thousand thanks” — which sums up his feelings.
Greg Larsen prespares to walk the plank after he is voted off the pirate ship, ending his Norway adventure.
Casting call
Do you have at least one Norwegian ancestor? If so, you have a chance to be on Alt for Norge. Outgoing, adventurous Americans are invited to try out for Season 5.
Act quickly: The deadline to submit application and video is Sunday, Jan. 5. Apply online at oconnorcasting.tv/index.php/norway/.
The winner will be united with Norwegian relatives and receive a cash prize of $50,000.
You must be at least 18 by Feb. 16 and have never traveled to Norway.
Callbacks will be in Chicago in February, and video tapes of the finalists in their hometowns will be made in April. Filming in Norway will occur between April and July.
Larsen encourages Forest Lake folks to give it a try.