For the wind: This Solvang festival to feature a fun LEGO showdown

WINDMILL WHIMSY: When you think of the famous shapes associated with Danish Days, the annual September spectacular that dances through the heart of Solvang, you might first imagine a sort of circle. That's the basic globular shape of the æbleskiver, the pleasing and puffy pancake that is synonymous with the Santa Ynez Valley town. Picturing an oval, a sort of clog-type shape, is also right on track, as Solvang is associated with the timeless shoes. But your mind also might alight on the rectangle, the sort often seen in a box brimming with LEGO bricks. It's no wonder you'd think rectangles, if you did: The Danish icon and Danish Days have longstanding connection, thanks to the creative competitions that take place at the weekend-long festival. And in 2024? Competitors will build small-scale windmills, an adorable ode to Solvang's best-known symbol.

Disco Flye Dai

THE CLICKY COMPETITION... will unfold — or perhaps we mean "funfold" — at Solvang Park on Saturday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 22. The Solvang Danish Days LEGO Competition will feature "three of California's top LEGO builders" as they recreate, with imaginative flair, the windmills that grace the town. Past competitions have found the builders taking on other Solvang icons, such as bakeries, and onlookers will gather to watch the bite-sized buildings rise. If you're seeking more Danish Days diversions while visiting, look to the Danish Days Parade, the Viking Beer & Wine Garden, and the ultra-popular Æbleskiver Breakfasts; you'll definitely want your ticket ahead of time for these palate-pleasing pancake parties, which happen on Saturday and Sunday. Good to know? The festival opens on Friday, Sept. 20 with a centerpiece Torchlight Parade in the evening.

Pictured at top: LEGO builder Chris Wight's Danish Mill Bakery, windmill, and Viking ship scene, the first-place winner in Solvang's April 2022 LEGO Building Competition. Photo: LEGO artist Allyson Gail

Updated Sept. 5