Lego Building, Aebleskiver Eating contests just two of the many attractions and activities in weekend-long event
California’s premier Danish heritage festival, Solvang Danish Days (SolvangDanishDays.org), is coming this weekend, Sept. 20-22, and this year’s event will see the return of two favorites: the two-day Lego Building Competition, and the Aebleskiver Eating Contest, which will see the return of last year’s winner, competitive eater and internet sensation Raina Huang. And Huang will have some competition as another competitive eater, Naader Reda (@, will be appearing at his first Danish Days.
The family-friendly Lego Building Competition will take place will be held Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 21-22, as part of the three-day festival weekend.
The event will feature three of California’s stars in the brick-building world, who will compete against each other as they construct their own takes on supersized versions of three of Solvang’s iconic windmills. The Lego Building Competition kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 10 a.m., as the builders begin their projects. Stationed in Solvang Park, at the heart of the unique destination marked by European architecture and fairy tale ambiance, Saturday’s build will run through 4 p.m. The public is welcome to spectate free of charge as the invited pros craft their building block windmill scenes.
Sunday, Sept. 22, brings more in-town building from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., a judging period that starts at 1:30 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m. winner announcement for the best build, which will occur during the Solvang Danish Days Closing Ceremony in Solvang Park. The building competition winner will be awarded a cash prize.
The 2024 Solvang Danish Days LEGO Building Competition builders are as follows:
- Chris Wight – first-place winner in 2022 Solvang Danish Days LEGO Building Competition: Wight, also the first-place winner in Solvang’s April 2022 town-wide Lego Building Competition, has had his brick workfeatured online, in kids’ TV shows, in magazines and more.
- Jesse Gros – Tied for first place in 2023 Solvang Danish Days LEGO Building Competition: Gros is a life coach, international retreat leader, and author who rediscovered Lego seven years ago with his daughter, Devon. He is an avid builder known for creating large-scale, custom builds, combining steampunk, pirate, and fantasy genres.
- Suzanne Hansen – Tied for first place in 2023 Solvang Danish Days LEGO Building Competition: By day, Suzanne Hansen is an engineer for Kern County. She is also a designer who enjoys using paper and Legos to create, especially after catching the “bug” in 2017 when she built a model of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”
Also returning to this year’s Danish Days weekend is Raina Huang (@rainaiscrazy), who will once again travel to the Santa Ynez Valley to compete in the event weekend’s Aebleskiver Eating Contests.
Huang’s first appearance at the Solvang Danish Days Aebleskiver Eating Contest was in September 2018, when she broke all modern Solvang Danish Days records by consuming 36 of the doughy pastry balls in the five-minute competition.
Joining Huang this year in the friendly competition is eating challenger Naader Reda (@freakeating), participating in his first Solvang Danish Days Aebleskiver Eating Contest.
Both contests (Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, 2024) are free to enter, all ages are welcome, and the public is invited to compete alongside Huang and Reda. Prizes will be awarded to non-professional eaters in two separate age groups, for both days. The all-you-can-eat five-minute contests will be held at 11:30 a.m. in the Midgaard Pavilion in Parking Lot 2, in downtown Solvang, adjacent to the Danish Days Viking Beer & Wine Garden (Copenhagen Drive, between First and Second Streets; must be 21 years or older to enter Viking Beer & Wine Garden).
Ticket sales for the Solvang Danish Days 2024 “Dane For A Day” VIP ticket bundle (only available online), as well as advance, online tickets for the Saturday and/or Sunday Æbleskiver Breakfasts, are currently available for purchase at Solvang-Danish-Days-2024.eventbrite.com
Admission to Solvang Danish Days is free and the weekend’s varied offerings include activities for all ages ranging from fan-favorite food events surrounding Æbleskiver, the iconic Danish pastry rounds; to a Danish-style beer and wine garden serving Danish import, Carlsberg beer, alongside local brews, wines and festival eats; to an axe throwing arena; interactive history lessons at the Elverhøj Museum of History & Art; story time sessions with Hans Christian Andersen; and, an Old World artisanal crafts marketplace.
Solvang Danish Days also includes plentiful free entertainment with three parades, Danish folk dancers and musicians performing in locations all over town, plus free, live concerts on the Midgaard Pavilion Stage in the middle of downtown Solvang, adjacent to the Viking Beer & Wine Garden. Solvang Danish Days will also feature an expanded “Kid’s Korner” this year, which will once again include the popular, and shaded, LEGO® activity tent.
Event weekend updates will be posted to the Solvang Danish Days Facebook and Instagram feeds at facebook.com/SolvangDanishDays and @DanishDays.
The partial 2024 Solvang Danish Days event weekend schedule is available online, at SolvangDanishDays.org.
