POULSBO — Miss Viking Fest 2006 Jasmine Campbell had said several times going into this year’s festival that she wouldn’t mind trying the lye-soaked cod, known as lutefisk.

Sunday afternoon in front of lutefisk-eating giants Charles Jensen and Eric Perkins and a crowd of curious onlookers, she, along with Viking Fest princesses Whitney Glebe and Elisabeth Almond, ate her words.

After enjoying a forkful of lutefisk, Campbell gave a pucker-faced thumbs up to the crowd as Jensen and Perkins stood by with childlike grins on their faces.

“It takes a whole lot of man to eat it,” Campbell said afterward.

The entire event went smoothly as this year’s turnout exceeded organizers’ expectations, said Viking Fest executive secretary Kathi Foresee.

“It’s been one of the best ever and the community support has been great,” Foresee said. “I don’t know how we could have asked for anything better.”

Mayor Kathryn Quade officially opened the festival Friday afternoon as she welcomed visitors to the city and introduced Miss Poulsbo 2006 Brenna Gardner-Brown and the Viking Fest court.

“Velkommen to Poulsbo,” Quade said. “I’ve never been more proud to be part of this community and to be your mayor than I am now.”

This year’s parade included more than 70 entries. Among the new showstoppers, was Bight of Poulsbo founder Bill Austin and Quade’s promotion of combined city and community efforts to reopen the Marine Science Center.

The duo did so with a historic boat pulled behind an antique truck sponsored by Los Cabos Restaurant owner Roberto Soltero.

For Miss Viking Fest 2006 and her princesses the weekend marked one of the first highlights in their reign as the Viking Fest court.

Campbell, who is African-American, had been the subject of numerous racist e-mails in the weeks leading up to the festival, so organizers planned for the worst-case scenario.

“I haven’t seen anything or heard anything, so the community support has been tremendous,” Foresee said Sunday.

While serving codfish during Sunday’s lutefisk-eating contest, Campbell said the whole weekend was an entirely positive experience.

“Coming down the hill into downtown during the parade was overwhelming and I’ll always have that same feeling whenever I come downtown,” Campbell said.

Throughout the weekend, Campbell said she never ceased to be amazed by the masses of kids coming up to her and the positive reception she received. During the course of the weekend, she said she also took a trip to the Viking Village in Waterfront Park, which is something she’d never done before.

“My court and I went down there and played some games and learned about the history of the Vikings,” Campbell said.

Almond and Glebe agreed that the parade was the best part of the weekend and said the entire festival is something they’ll never forget.

As the lutefisk eating contest was heating up, things at the armory were cooling down as the Poulsbo Noon Lions Club prepared to wrap up its pancake breakfast.

“On Saturday, it was a steady stream and it was pretty typical on Sunday,” Lion Tom Settle said as the event entered its final hour.

Club members used about 300 dozen eggs as the turnout met the their usual expectations, Settle said, adding that while Lions stepped up to help with the event, local LEO clubs were key to its success.

“They really helped push us over the top and they were great helpers,” Settle said.