Solvang, California, “The Danish Capital of America,” Debuts New Lineup of Fall Season Experiences: “Spirits of Solvang: Harvest, Haunts and Happenings”

— Europe-in-America, Storybook Travel Destination along California’s Central Coast Offers Multigenerational Autumn Activities and Entertainment including Pumpkin Patch and Corn Mazes, U-Pick Apple Orchard, City-wide Scarecrows, Concerts and Classic Cars, Halloween, History and Heritage Celebrations —

Solvang, California (www.SolvangUSA.com), the Danish-settled village in Santa Ynez Valley wine country, is unveiling a new lineup of fall season experiences, “Spirits of Solvang: Harvest, Haunts and Happenings,” to accompany its additional heritage, history, and various other exhibit debuts, festivals, and events. “Spirits of Solvang” comprises month-long, regularly-running events scheduled for all of October, as well as single or one-time happenings that celebrate the spooky season from September through November. Solvang’s full plate of fall happenings will take place in the Central Coast city known for its European-style ambiance, Danish-inspired architecture, rich California history, and road trip-worthy attractions.

“Solvang is already known for its over-the-top holiday season event, Solvang Julefest, but we’re going all in this year for harvest and Halloween. Solvang might just be the tastiest Halloween town, too, given our central seat in Santa Barbara wine country, and our growing roster of MICHELIN-listed restaurants and Danish bakeries,” said Randy Murphy, Solvang City Manager. “Solvang is a California getaway destination with experiences for all ages, set in a scene that could easily be mistaken for a charming European village.”

Living History and Heritage in September

Families seeking edutourism experiences have multiple opportunities for an entertaining education through Solvang’s fall celebrations of the varied cultures that have mingled to make the city so unique. Native American peoples were joined by Spanish settlers and eventually, Danish immigrants, all of which continue to maintain a community presence in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Each year’s Solvang Danish Days festival (www.SolvangUSA.com/things-to-do/Danish-Days), the 88th in 2025, honors the 1911 establishment of Solvang by Danish-Americans. The weekend-long event takes place throughout downtown Solvang, Friday through Sunday, September 19-21, 2025.

Solvang Danish Days 2025 will once again feature food events surrounding Æbleskiver, the iconic Danish pastry rounds; a Danish-style beer and wine garden; an axe throwing arena; a Viking “camp” and presentations; interactive history lessons at the Elverhøj Museum of History & Art; story time sessions with Hans Christian Andersen; an Old World artisanal crafts marketplace; plus lots of free entertainment with parades, Danish folk dancers and musicians performing at locations all over town, and live stage concerts in downtown Solvang. The family-friendly event has pastimes to match, including the LEGO activity tents in Solvang Park.

Part of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the family-oriented, music- and dance-filled Santa Ynez Valley Hispanic Heritage Celebration will be held in Solvang Park (Mission Drive at First Street), on Sunday, September 28, 2025.

Spirits of Solvang: Harvest, Haunts and Happenings

The Solvang Farmer Pumpkin Patch (@solvangfarmerpumpkinpatch) reopens for the 2025 season on September 26, growing more than 50 different varieties of pumpkins ranging in size from Wee-B-Littles up to several hundred pounds. Open daily through November 2, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, the Pumpkin Patch also features a corn maze of more than a dozen acres including a scavenger hunt for hidden symbols throughout the maze, as well as a kiddie version of the maze, and freshly-grown, freshly-popped popcorn and kettle corn. The “Patch,” located at 1035 Alamo Pintado Road, will also hold Night Corn Mazes on Friday, October 24, Saturday, October 25, and Halloween (Friday, October 31).

Offering bookable u-pick apple experiences, The Yard Orchard & Co. is now open for the season just down the road from The Solvang Farmer Pumpkin Patch (2275 Alamo Pintado Road). The Yard’s farm stand featuring locally-sourced goods and produce is open daily, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

The 16th annual Solvang Scarecrow Fest, part of the larger SYV Scarecrow Fest (www.SYVscarecrows.com), runs October 1 through October 31, 2025. During the month-long Scarecrow Fest, Solvang businesses and organizations will participate in the contest by featuring a scarecrow of their own creation posted at their location, upon which locals, tourists, and area merchants may vote. Solvang Scarecrow voting categories include the likes of “Best Scarecrow Photo Opp,” “Best Use of Recycled Materials,” and “Most Danish,” and annual SYV Scarecrow Fests have featured upwards of 100 of the friendly “creatures” posted throughout the Santa Ynez Valley.

The City of Solvang Parks & Rec hosts “Solvang Spooktacular Cinema in the Park” on Friday, October 10 (6:00 PM), with an al fresco showing of family-friendly film, Halloweentown, the witchy Disney Channel classic. Blankets are encouraged for this nostalgic screening under the stars. Indoors, horror film-themed Final Girl Wines, recently voted one of the top five “Best Wine Tasting Room(s)” in the 2025 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, will liven up after-hours with appropriately-spooky October events like their own Friday and Saturday movie nights, and special pours all month.

Solvang’s spirited after-dark scene also features regularly-running activities such as “The Haunt,” Solvang’s premier ghost tour that leads participants into the ghostly past of the enchanting Danish village. Accompanied by a seasoned storyteller and ghost hunter, guests experience a real, interactive paranormal investigation. Meant for solo travelers, groups, and families with older children, the tours are offered most nights throughout the fall, and on Friday, October 10, 2025, The Haunt will host a special one-night-only event, Solvang Festival Theater Paranormal Investigation (10:00 PM-11:30 PM).

Sister to The Haunt’s Solvang Ghost Tours, Secret Solvang will host a special Sunday, October 12, Spooky Solvang Food & Wine Tour (11:11 AM). Guests will eat, drink, and explore Solvang in its Halloween best, hitting all the locations that are participating in the month’s “Best Spooky Food & Drink Competition” (details TBA). The same date, October 12 (2:00 PM-4:00 PM), gather in Solvang Park for a haunted harmonies edition of Music in the Park, with a live performance by Angie and the Nightmares and the announcement of the Best Spooky Food & Drink Competition winners.

On Saturday, October 18, 2025 (11:00 AM), Solvang will feature a Kids & Pets Halloween Parade in Solvang Park. Post-parade, Downtown Solvang will host Kids’ Trick-or-Treating (1:00 PM), followed by Adults’ Trick-or-Treating at 4:00 PM, with stops at Solvang’s multiple wine tasting locations.

The City of Solvang Parks & Rec will open its “doors” to the 31st annual Solvang Haunted House on Friday, October 24, and Saturday, October 25, 2025. The maze-like Haunted House, with this year’s theme being “Nightmares…They Never End,” winds its way through Solvang Festival Theater and the adjacent grounds (420 Second Street). The Solvang Haunted House is open from 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM both evenings with a kid-friendlier version of the run-through from 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM, and an adjoining Haunted House Fair (5:00 PM, on) with themed vendors, food and drinks for purchase, and face painting.

Classic Cars, Comedy, Concerts, California Culture and Conservation

The third annual Viking Classic Car Show, when autos and motorcycles of all sorts will be displayed throughout downtown Solvang, is Saturday, October 11, 2025 (10:00 AM to 5:00 PM). 

Solvang Festival Theater will host a handful of open-air shows this fall, spotlighting a variety of live entertainment. Multi-Platinum singer/songwriter and producer, and Billboard chart-topper, Mat Kearney performs Wednesday, September 10, 2025, while American actor, comedy writer, and stand-up comic, Orny Adams, brings the laughs to the theater’s outdoor stage on Saturday, September 13, 2025. Blues and soul legend, Grammy-winner Robert Cray performs with his band on Saturday, November 1, 2025, with two more November shows, kid-popular Chris Perondi’s Stunt Dog Experience on November 8, and One Night of Queen, a November 14 musical tribute performed by Gary Mullen & The Works.

The Elverhøj Museum of History and Art will reveal its newest art gallery exhibit on Saturday, September 13, 2025, So Far: Selected Works by Kam Jacoby, a retrospective of Jacoby’s photography, and now celebrating its 25th year, the California Nature Art Museum will open its next exhibition, Wild in California, on September 20, 2025. On view through February 23, 2026, Wild in California is a solo exhibition by Museum Founder, conservation advocate, and artist, Patti Jacquemain. The show will include both woodcut prints and mosaics of all sizes, showcasing the many bioregions and species that contribute to California’s rich biodiversity.

Dog-friendly and ideal for kids, Solvang, known for its Danish-American ambiance, architecture and design details, pastries and bakeries, and array of wine tasting options, also boasts dozens of unique boutiques, restaurants and gourmet food purveyors. Carefully-curated indie booksellers and high-end home goods suppliers mingle with fairy tale-like children’s stores and museum gift shops. Solvang’s foodie destinations offer everything from elevated street cuisine – like locally-sourced fish tacos on hand-made tortillas, and comforting ramen noodles – to European-style pretzels and sausages, to Italian standbys or iconic Danish dishes, to elevated new-Californian fare in the form of MICHELIN-honored menus. Solvang visitors sip small-batch, locally-roasted coffee, shop for exotic, hand-bottled spice blends, or enjoy Tiki cocktails and craft beer, all part of an indulgent and one-of-a-kind, year ‘round shopping and playing escape.

About the City of Solvang
Referred to as “The Danish Capital of America,” the City of Solvang is located in the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County, California. Founded by a group of Danish-Americans in 1911 and incorporated in 1985, Solvang offers a taste of Denmark in Southern California. Danish design and Old World charm fill Solvang’s numerous interior courtyards, cozy communal spaces, and open-air venues, where vacation itineraries for all unfold. The walkable village features plentiful free parking options for locals and visitors, and more than 20 lodging options for staycation-ers, weekenders and midweek travelers, from classic comfort to luxury-level. The Solvang Visitor Center, located at 1639 Copenhagen Drive, is open daily, 9:30 AM-5:30 PM (closed briefly for lunch). For more information, including travel itinerary ideas and inspiration for things to do, where to eat and drink, and places to stay, follow our adventures on Instagram (@SolvangUSA) and Facebook (facebook.com/VisitSolvangUSA).