Danish flags, handmade signs and chants of “Thou shalt not steal” filled Solvang Park on Saturday as residents and visitors gathered to voice support for Denmark and Greenland.

The event, called “Hands Off Greenland! Solvang Stands With Denmark,” drew nearly 100 people to the famously named Danish Capital of America for what organizers described as a demonstration of “sovereignty, democracy and cultural solidarity.” 

Attendees joined in group songs, held protest signs along Mission Drive, and listened to speakers who framed the gathering as a peaceful response to recent U.S. rhetoric about the future of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.

“This demonstration is intended to bring the entire community — and anyone who believes in peace and freedom and support for our allies and friends,” said Gary Caris, a longtime Santa Barbara County resident who helped lead the event.

Though affiliated with the Santa Ynez Valley Democratic Organization, Caris said the rally was not formally organized by the group.

Solvang City Councilmember Elizabeth Orona speaks during Saturday’s “Hands Off Greenland” rally, describing the demonstration as being “in the spirit of friendship” and highlighting the deep cultural ties between Solvang and Denmark. Credit: Nick Forselles / Noozhawk photo

Gary Caris, right, speaks at the “Hands Off Greenland” rally in Solvang Park on Saturday. Credit: Nick Forselles / Noozhawk photo

Calls for compassion

While the focus of the event was solidarity with Greenland, Caris opened the program by calling for a moment of silence honoring Renée Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens recently killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis. The gesture, he said, was meant to recognize broader concerns about government overreach and human rights.

Rev. Jim Burklo, a pastor at the United Church of Christ in Simi Valley, was the one who first proposed holding the demonstration in Solvang, suggesting that the city’s Danish identity made it a meaningful place to show support.

In his remarks, Burklo urged attendees to approach the issue from a moral and spiritual perspective.

“Today we come together to practice empathy,” he said. “Yes, empathy is a good thing.”

He called on the crowd to consider the pain and fear experienced by people in Denmark and Greenland, describing the rally as a way to “enter into that hurt and join in that hurt with them.”

Solvang City Councilmember Elizabeth Orona also spoke briefly, calling the demonstration an expression of civic friendship and support.

She acknowledged that attendees were “peacefully exercising their constitutional right” and described the event as being “in the spirit of friendship.”

Orona pointed to the deep cultural ties between Solvang and Denmark, crediting the Danish community for bringing “prosperity, culture [and] consistency” to the city.

Protestors line Mission Drive in Solvang on Saturday, holding signs and flags during the “Hands Off Greenland” rally. Credit: Nick Forselles / Noozhawk photo

Public reaction in Solvang

Most passing drivers appeared supportive, honking, waving or giving thumbs-up. 

Heidi Iwasko, a longtime Solvang resident who attended Saturday’s demonstration, said she joined the protest to oppose what she described as “lying, hypocrisy and cheating” by the current administration.

“There’s a lot of people that disagree with what’s happening right now, and we’re a small community and this is actually one of the smaller protests in this community right now,” she said.

Iwasko said the turnout was encouraging and predicted that small local events like this one would eventually “coalesce into something much larger.” 

Benjamin Vizzachero, a Santa Ynez resident, was one of the few protesters holding a sign specifically condemning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said he showed up not only to oppose military action in Greenland but to express anger over “the violence being perpetrated on innocent people.”

Vizzachero, an active member of Indivisible Santa Ynez Valley, said he hoped the demonstration would reach people “in the middle of the road” who might not otherwise be paying attention or who are “trapped in a news cycle.”

Community members gather in Solvang Park on Saturday to listen to speakers during the “Hands Off Greenland” rally. Credit: Nick Forselles / Noozhawk photo

Rev. Jim Burklo leads the crowd in chants of “Thou shalt not steal” at Saturday’s rally in Solvang. Burklo framed the gathering as a moral call for empathy and support for Denmark and Greenland. Credit: Nick Forselles / Noozhawk photo

“If you’re someone who’s not angry right now, it’s probably because you’re not paying attention and you don’t understand,” he said. “But if you just see how many people right now think what’s happening is wrong, how many people are angry, that this is a moment in our history that’s unlike anything that I’ve lived through … then that’s going to start to reach out to those people in the middle of the road.”

Vizzachero said Indivisible SYV and SYV-DO will host a “SYV Stands with Minneapolis” peaceful protest on Sunday, Feb. 1, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in front of the Solvang Veterans Memorial Hall at 1745 Mission Dr.