ISSN 0909-4391 July-August 2005 Danish Westindian Society 40. Year, ed. 3 Patron: Her Majesty the Queen DANISH WEST INDIAN FRIENDSHIP FESTIVAL 1 Welcome to Festival 2005 It is now the 10th time that the Danish West Indian Society arranges a Festival for our sister organisations in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is the 10th time that members of the St Croix and St Thomas/St John Friends of Denmark Societies come to visit us in Denmark. On behalf of the Danish Westindian Society and all our members I wish our guests a warm welcome. This applies particularly to those of you who visit our country for the first time. The Festival Committee and its chairman Mr. Walther Damgaard have prepa- red the program. To a great extent the structure of the program is based on the structure from four years ago. This is due to the very positive response we received from the participants in the 9th Festival. The Committee has worked hard for more than a year. A lot of effort has been put into every item and every detail of the program. But from now on, all of you - our guests and our hosts - take over, as you will be responsible for the most important part of the Festival: “to preserve the cultural and friendly relations between our societies”. One thing is beyond planning: Danish summer weather. But according to statistics, the two weeks chosen for the 10th Festival in Denmark should be the warmest and the most pleasant of them all. Anyway, you can be sure of one thing: The warmth in our welcome. Anne Walbom President Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II Patron of Dansk Vestindisk Selskab Photo: Steen Evald Greetings from the Minister of Culture, Mr. Brian Mikkelsen Last Christmas I had the pleasure to visit the U.S. Virgin Islands together with my family. It was in all ways a magnificent experience. Not least because of the dedicated and experienced people we met, but also because of the evident great effort being made for Danish history and identity in the islands. I think it is important to maintain the ties as part of our historic interest in the former Danish islands; not least because the history of the Virgin Islands is an important key to under- standing the European policy and ambitions in the past. There are cultural links between the Virgin Islands and Denmark in many ways. During my time as Minister of Culture I have had the pleasure to participate in the presentation of the results from the Danish West Indian archive coopera- tion, which has contributed to making the so-called West Indian archives far more accessible e.g. via the internet. A part of the documents have been micro- filmed and handed over to the Virgin Islands. In this way, I hope that many people can benefit from this very interesting source material, a unique part of the cultural heritage in understanding that era. Recently, the importance of our historic ties was emphasized by Danish Tele- vision through the series of broadcasts “The Descendants of the Slaves”. In this context, the National Archives have made a new website concerning genealogy in connection with the Virgin Islands. The archives form an important source of information about the Danish time in the islands, and I am happy to see that the Festival Program of this year contains a possibility of visiting our Government Archives. Finally I want to wish you a pleasant Festival 2005 and to welcome the guests from the Virgin Islands to Denmark. I hope you will have an exciting tour to the various parts of our country. I’m looking forward to seeing you at a reception in the Ministry of Culture in the beginning of August. Happy Festival 2005! Brian Mikkelsen 4 Week 1: Sightseeing and visits in Jutland and Funen The hosts in Jutland and Funen are divided into four regional groups each of which has set up a program for visits to various exciting attractions in their region. Local tours and visits: In addition to the regional programs, a number of local tours and visits will be arranged. The regional tours planned for our guests are as follows: Northern Jutland Sunday: Visit to Blokhus, Rødhus Kirke, petanque- tournament at Kirsten & Jørn in their summer cottage. Afterwards we barbecue (hopefully: Danish weather). Monday: Ålborg. Reception at the Town Hall. Inger Lise is our guide through Ålborg. Duus’s Winery. 2 hours on your own... Touring the Liquour-factory - and not to forget: Tasting the goods. Tuesday: Come-together in Rebild bakker, arranged together with group ‘Central Jutland’ . Dinner at Røverstuen i Rold. Wednesday and Thursday: Friday: Goodbye for now - heading for Copenhagen 5 Central Jutland Friday 22 and Saturday 23: Arrival to hosts. Sunday: Service, lunch at home, Klejtrup:World Atlas. In the evening a barbecue at Hornum. Monday: Visiting Viborg city, Dollerup Bakker and Moensted chalk-diggings. Tuesday: Visiting Rebild Bakker (together with group ‘Jutland North’, Emigrant Museum, The Spring (Kilden) and Rold Skov, visit the witch Dannie Druehyld; supper in the robber house and a hold-up. Wednesday: Morning off, afternoon feast in Horsens city or Visit a farmer and get danish food. Thursday: Visit Ålestrup city, take a tour on the railway bikes, visit Rosenparken (the rose park); dancing, music and singing. Farewell party. Friday 29: Goodbye for now - heading for Copenhagen 6 Eastern Jutland Friday 22 and Saturday 23: Arrival to hosts. Sunday: 10:00 am Church service in the Abbey church, Horsens 6:00 pm Evening: Bowling and eating at „Dillen“, Jutland’s „Las Vegas“ . Monday: Visit Mossø with picnic basket and driving around the lake which is Jutland’s biggest lake. Supper at Edith and Niels Jørn Christiansen. Tuesday: Exhibition at Rosenholm Castle. Supper at Grethe Strange in her summer cottage. Wednesday: Trip to Horsens and a visit to the Town Hall. 6:00 pm Supper and dance at HFI’s, Hattingvej 14, Horsens Features from Juliussens Dancing Institute. After this, dance to „Stangbacardy“. Thursday: Day off. Evening: Barbecue. Friday 29: Goodbye for now - heading for Copenhagen 7 Southern Jutland Friday 22 and Saturday 23: Arrival to hosts. Sunday: Service in Ribe Cathedral. Monday: Reception at the town hall in Ribe Ribe on your own, visit Mandøcentret and a tour to Mandø with picnic basket. Tuesday: Visit Lego; Supper at the parsonage (party), singing and bonfire in the garden. Wednesday: Sightseeing in Ribe Supper at Betty Neel Jansen and Peter Slot (party) Seeing the night watchman. Thursday: Supper by Tove and Knud Jørgensen (party) with folk dance, musicians and dance. Friday 29: Goodbye for now - heading for Copenhagen 8 SE Jutland/Funen Group Friday 22 and Saturday 23: Arrival at hosts. Sunday July 24th: Visit to Christiansfeld, Koldinghus and Lyng Church. 10:15 am Meeting point in front of the Moravian Church at Christiansfeld. 10:30 am Service at the Moravian Church Visit to Sister house. Moravian history by Minister Jørn Boytler. 0:30 pm Lunch at Christiansfeld Hotel 1:15 pm Transport to Kolding Visit to the former Kings Castle, Koldinghus. 3:00 pm Leaving Kolding for Lillebælt and Lyng Church 4:00 pm Visit at the church Tuesday July 26th Visit to Odense, HC. Andersen’s house, HCA - parade, sailingtour on Odense Canal. 9:30 am Meeting point near HCA’s House 9:45 am Guided tour in HCA’s House (in english) 11:00 am HC. Andersen - parade in Lotzes Garden 11:30 am Lunch at Café Fyrtøjet. After lunch we can take a stroll around the old part of Odense and afterwards take the cars to the Canal. 2:00 pm Sailing tour at Odense Canal - if anybody wants to visit the ZOO it is possible to „jump off“ the boat when it stops there. We shall end the whole tour enjoying a cup of coffee/tea. Where? Depends on the weather. 9 Mossø Mossø is the largest lake in Jutland. It is 10 km. in length and has a width of 2- 3 km. The lake and its surroundings is protected in order to preserve the area in its present condition. The river ‘Gudenåen’ (Denmarks longest stream) runs through the lake.The area dates back to glacial times, late part. Its difficult to describe the beauty of the area: Go and see for yourself. All good things must come to an end.... We think the first week in Denmark will give you an impression of advantages of ‘rural’ life: You will have the possibility to see beautiful nature, meet people, who are happy to meet you - and hopefully you’ll have time to enjoy it all... ...because Friday morning - a bus leaves from Ålborg, heading for Copenha- gen. This bus will take you to another week in Festival 2005 - centered around Copenhagen. So see you in Copenhagen. DVS-medlemmer og venner af DVS: Gå ikke glip af Farewell Party 2005 se side 27 for tilmelding men husk: Tilmelding senest mandag 1. august 10 Some Facts about Denmark: Area: 16,630 square miles Currency: 1 krone Population: 5.2 million (6.25 kroner = 1 dollar) Constitution: Constitutional Monarchy Queen Margrethe II Parliament: Folketinget - 179 members (of which 2 are from the Faroe Islands and 2 are from Greenland) Direct elections to the parliament every fourth year, at the minimum. Prime Minister: Anders Fogh Rasmussen Religion: Evangelical Lutheran Weights and Measures: 1 kilo (kg) 2.2 pounds 1 liter (l) about 1 U.S. quart 1 kilometer (km) 0.62 mile 1 meter (m) 1.1 yards 1 centimeter 0.39 inch Average temperature in august is 22 celsius (72 degree fahrenheit).