Staff Report
The annual Danish Days celebration drew thousands of people to Solvang to take part in all of its traditional activities, ranging from cultural and historical lessons to eating contests — mixed with a large helping of fun and entertainment.
Led by Danish Maid Christiana Heron,the weekend of Sept. 14-16 began with the Torchlight Parade on Friday night, featured the main Danish Days parade on Saturday, and closed with the charming Children’s Parade on Sunday.
In between, people at the popular aebleskiver breakfasts and aebleskiver eating contests consumed nearly 9,000 of the delicious round pancake balls.
The winning float in the Danish Days Parade, led by Grand Marshals Glen and Michele Jacobsen, was the “Float”-ing Along in Beautiful Copenhagen” entry by Nielsen Building Materials and the Andersen family. It featureda larger-than-life mermaid that epitomized the parade’s theme, “Beautiful Denmark by the Sea.”
Category winners in the Saturday parade were Birkholm’s (Best Family/Group entry, including the original 1953 Chevy delivery truck once used by Helms Bakery); the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School band (Best Musical entry); the Solvang Village Band and the Carlsberg Beer Wagon (Best Equestrian/Animal entry); and the Solvang Conference & Visitors Bureau (Best Miscellaneous Entry).
Among the nearly two dozen entries were three bands: the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School band; Ojai’s Nordhoff High School band, which has marched in the Danish Days Parade for more than two decades; and the ever-popular Solvang Village Band atop the Carlsberg Beer Wagon.
The Saturday and Sunday aebleskiver eating contests, which are free to enter but require eating without hands, produced an entertaining array of winners.
Saturday’s contest was dominated by touring competitive eater Raina Huang, who easily cleared the previous modern record of 18.5 aebleskiver by downing 36 of them in five minutes. Her colleague and tour mate, Nadia White, ate 22 to take third place, while Judson Clark – the former record-holder – took second by eating 23.
The Sunday winner in the “16 and up” category was Charles G. Bill Jr., 61, from Cypress, who tied another competitor with 18 and then ate three more in a tie-breaker.
Sunday’s “16 and under” category winner was Noah Meijer, who ate 10.
The nonprofit Solvang Danish Days Foundationalso announced the dates for the 84th annual Solvang Danish Days as Sept. 20-22, 2019.
More information, go to www.SolvangDanishDays.orgor use Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
