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A Joyful Day: Denmark's Rebild Fest Celebrates U.S. Independence Day
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# : |
13320 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
7 / 1995 |
1,780 Words |
| Author
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Bent Lorentzen
Bent Lorentzen is president of Danish-American Newsmedia
Enterprises, an independent journalism and cultural program
located in Towson, Maryland. Lorentzen wishes to thank the
Royal Danish Embassy in Washington, D.C., Baltimore's Danish
Consulate, Jens Otto Mose's family, the Rebild (Danish)
National Park office, the Rebild Society, and the Danish
newspapers Jyllandposten and Berlingske Tidende for their help
with this article. |
"It is certain to be an unprecedented celebration," said a spokesperson for the Sons of Denmark (a Danish-American fraternity). Plans for the 1995 Rebild Fest, confirmed in April, indicate that Lloyd Bentsen, an American of Danish descent and formerly a vice presidential candidate, treasury secretary, and senator for Texas, will represent America at this year's festival. Princess Benedikte is expected to speak on behalf of Denmark's royal house.
The four-day festival actually commences on July 1 in Aalborg, an ancient shipping city in the north Jutland peninsula, and Rebild, a forested park forty kilometers inland. Thousands of American visitors, many hoping to reacquaint themselves with their Danish roots, will begin to converge on the sites from hotels in the surrounding hills and villages. Then, on July 2, the Danish and American branches of the Rebild Society will meet at Rebild House.
Various American and Danish schools will cooperatively hold public exhibitions of Danish and American culture. "Brigham Young University in Utah has been helpful in planning cultural and colonial-era events," says Sven Nicolaisen, a D.C.-area architect and vice president of the American Rebild Committee. These are often impromptu exhibitions and ceremonies. According to Nicolaisen, "Native American dances and folk dancing [will] occur."
Historians bill Rebild Fest as the largest single celebration of America's Independence, even dwarfing those within the States. "It was begun by Max Henius, a Dane who immigrated to the United States around 1895 but who returned in 1912 to find his roots," explains Niels Selling, secretary-general of the Rebild National Park.
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