Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Denmark Ambassador to the U-S, Peter Taksøe-Jensen are scheduled to speak during a banquet Saturday evening in Elk Horn, at the 30^th Anniversary Celebration of the opening of the Danish Immigrant Museum.

The Ambassador of Denmark to the U-S, Peter Taksøe-Jensen

The Ambassador represents the government of Denmark in the United States. Prior to commencing his position in Washington, Taksøe-Jensen was the Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs at the United Nations.

Museum Executive Director, Dr. John Mark Nielsen, who was knighted this February by the Queen of Denmark, will also speak at the event, which runs from 5-to7-p.m. Tickets for the banquet were through advanced sales only, and are no longer available. 

Excluding the banquet, museum events will be free will donation, open to the public, and include music, dancing, exhibit tours, and the annual Sankt Hans Aften bonfire. Sankt Hans Aften is the traditional midsummer celebration in Denmark, celebrated since the days of the Vikings. A bonfire will be started in the Jens Jensen Prairie Landscape Park on the museum grounds at 9 p.m., including a smaller fire in the council ring. (The complete scheduled is listed below) 

The DanishImmigrantMuseum was established in 1983 and the museum building constructed in 1993. Open daily, the museum’s core exhibition shares the story of early Danish immigrants to the United States. Through text, photographs, and artifacts, visitors learn of the factors that influenced decisions to immigrate, the challenges they faced and their accomplishments, and the lasting legacy of those travelers. 

More information can be found at www.danishmuseum.org or by calling (712) 764-7001. 

30th Anniversary Schedule of Events – Saturday, June 22, 2013

2:00 & 3:00:  Tours of Danish Modern: Design for Living

2:30 – 3:30:  Glenn Henriksen playing Victor Borge’s Grand Piano

3:45 – 4:15:  “Danish Troubadour” Flemming Behrend Performs Outdoors

4:30:  Doors Open for Tent Dinner

5:00 – 7:00:  Tent Banquet

7:30:  Sankt Hans Aften Celebration begins:

• Cake, Ice Cream, Lemonade
• Flemming Behrend Performs
• Kimballton Folk Dancers Perform
• Games for Children
• Community Singing

9:00: Bonfire