About 20 students from Bethany College joined forces with their adult sponsors recently to roll Swedish meatballs in preparation for the 2017 Hyllningsfest Smörgåsbord.

The group shared stories and laughter as they formed, patted and rolled 250 pounds of the Swedish meat mixture into hundreds of delicious meatballs for the festival's signature meal.

Scott Achenbach, owner of Scott's Hometown Foods, set up tables in the back of his store and supplied the volunteers from Kappa Gamma Phi and the BC baseball team with tubs of the secret mixture.

Kim Hett, co-chair of the Smörgåsbord committee, says connecting Bethany students with this time-honored tradition is a natural fit. "They just get in here and go and go with a positive attitude," she said. The Smörgåsbord will be served on Friday evening at three different settings: 5:00 pm, 6:30 pm and 8:00 pm. And though Scott won't reveal his secret recipe, you can enjoy the meatballs sold locally or online at cookswedish.com.

Bethany student Brittney Roush (left) of Visalia, Calif., prepares meatballs with friends.