Residents of the picturesque Santa Ynez Valley village of Solvang – known internationally as “The Danish Capital of America,” – will gather at 11 am. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31, for Hands Off Greenland! Solvang Stands With Denmark – a community rally to affirm respect for national sovereignty, democratic values, and the longstanding cultural ties between Solvang and Denmark.

The protest will be held at Solvang Park, 1630 Mission Dr.

The protest is driven by recent, widely unpopular U.S. government threats to usurp Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory for over three centuries. The people of Greenland oppose any takeover.

Solvang was founded by Danish immigrants in 1911, and its residents are deeply unsettled by current Washington, D.C. rhetoric.

Danish heritage is a central source of Solvang’s identity. The city maintains a sister-city relationship with Aalborg, a thousand-year-old city in the north of Denmark. Solvang has welcomed many visits from the Danish royal family. Henrik, Prince of Denmark, came to celebrate Solvang’s 2011 centennial. Other royal visits date back to 1939.

Solvang Stands With Denmark began after a pastor from a neighboring community posed a simple question: With its unique history, might Solvang offer a meaningful place to gather and speak from the heart?

That question sparked this initiative to gather all civic-minded residents and visitors to peacefully protest in the city’s historic center in response to our government’s dangerous threats to world peace.

While members of the Santa Ynez Valley Democratic Organization have helped to organize the rally, they emphasize that this is a grassroots response to the widespread distress felt across the community. It is for Solvang and for anyone who supports the rights and integrity of both Denmark and Greenland.

Community members and visitors are invited to attend and stand together in a spirit of respect, unity, and cultural solidarity.