Celebrating Danish Heritage

A parade float shaped like a Viking ship moves slowly down Copenhagen Drive in Solvang, Calif. (pop. 5,332), known as the Danish Capital of America. Thousands of onlookers crowd the sidewalk to gaze at the colorful parade that marks the official start of Danish Days, a three-day celebration of the town’s heritage held during the third weekend of September.

“Everyone turns out for the festival,” says Mayor Jim Richardson, who enjoys waving to spectators aboard the Viking float. “It’s an exciting time. We get to show off our best side and our Danish heritage.”

Red and white Danish flags line the street, complementing the U.S. flags carried by the Solvang High School marching band. A Model-T Ford rolls down the parade route as occupants toss candy to gleeful children, who are dressed in folk outfits and wooden clogs.

“I think Danish Days is fantastic,” says Bent Olsen, 63, owner of Olsen’s Danish Village Bakery. Olsen stays busy throughout the festival baking kringles—a breakfast treat shaped like a large pretzel and laced with almond paste—along with other traditional delicacies.

“Danish Days has become an event for people who have ties to Denmark, who, in one weekend, find all the foods and pastries they’ve been missing throughout the year,” says Olsen, whose father emigrated from Denmark in 1973. “I absolutely love it.”

In addition to showcasing Danish food, the festival includes wood-carving demonstrations, Danish folk singers and folk dance troupes.

In fact, the town’s own Solvang Village Folk Dancers are a staple of the celebration. “Our group has been dancing at this event for 30 years,” says dancer Jean Menzies, 69. “We have one dance called the ‘Seven Jumps’ that’s mostly for small children. A lot of them come up and ask if we’ll do that dance. Kids seem to love it.”

The town’s Danish heritage dates back to the early 1900s, when a group of Danish educators from the Midwest ventured to California to form a West Coast colony and build a Danish folk school. Max Hanberg, 53, co-chair of the Danish Days Foundation, which hosts the annual festival, says that the settlers embraced the Santa Ynez Valley because it reminded them of their homeland. “This valley looks very similar to Denmark if you don’t look at the mountains,” says Hanberg, whose parents emigrated from Denmark in 1952.

Once in the valley, the settlers purchased 9,000 acres, and in 1911 founded Solvang, which translates to “sunny valley.” In 1936, on Solvang’s 25th anniversary, the town held its first Danish Days. Solvang became so well-known for its Danish roots that, in 1939, the future king and queen of Demark, Prince Frederik and Princess Ingrid, visited the town.

Today, the festival draws 15,000 visitors, and involves more than 40 volunteers. “It’s not only the Danish community that volunteers its time, but it seems that everybody in Solvang comes out to help,” Hanberg says.

The entire town embraces the spirit of the festival. Kathryn Mullins, owner of The Book Loft, dons a Danish folk costume as she greets visitors. She says Danish Days draws attendees to her shop, many looking for books by the Danes’ favorite fairy tale author, Hans Christian Andersen, who penned classics such as The Ugly Duckling and The Emperor’s New Clothes. Curious visitors also can learn more about the author’s life and work.

“Above the bookstore, we have the Hans Christian Andersen Museum, an important part of the town,” Mullins says. “He was Denmark’s gift to the world.”

Likewise, Danish Days is a gift from one generation to the next.

“I am Danish and I want to hold onto my Danish traditions and heritage,” Olsen says. “This festival will continue as long as we have young people who come out and volunteer. They may not speak Danish, but they value their heritage and want to keep their traditions alive.”

Story by Judith A. Stock of Granada Hills, Calif.

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