May 2, 2023

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Downtown along Alisal Road in Solvang, Calif., on April 25. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

By Ryan Fonseca Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Tuesday, May 2. The town of Solvang bills itself as “a sun-soaked slice of Danish culture,” with windmills, thatched-roof buildings, wine tasting rooms, fabled pancakes and other sweets drawing thousands of tourists out to the Santa Ynez Valley each year. I was among them in 2022, and I have the tiny windmill fridge magnet to prove it. “In the self-described Danish Capital of America, friendliness is part of the brand,” my colleague Hailey Branson-Potts wrote this week. “But lately — if you’re queer — something smells rotten in this wannabe outpost of Denmark.” The issue stems from an effort by the local LGBTQ+ community and their allies to display pride-themed banners downtown and paint some crosswalks rainbow colors during the month of June. Solvang’s City Council shot down the proposal. The gay couple that proposed the idea were harassed online and some posted their children’s names and photos. Both critics and supporters of the pride-themed decor say they’ve received death threats. “The feuding has prompted LGBTQ+ people in and around Solvang to speak out about how difficult, lonely and, sometimes, dangerous it feels to be queer in rural America,” Hailey reported. Just last year, Solvang’s leaders approve the town’s first pride parade. The next month, two teenagers stole a rainbow flag from a nearby church and posted video showing them burning it. Both were arrested and now face charges. Lauren Lastra, president of Santa Ynez Valley Pride, which is planning this year’s parade, told Hailey, “those in opposition are now feeling the need to push back at our visibility, our success and our presence.” ONEderchild, a toy store, with a progress pride flag along Copenhagen Drive in Solvang on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) In the wake of the feud, the Denmark-loving town even received a letter from the mayor of Copenhagen — the actual Danish capital of actual Denmark — calling out local officials for “opposition to Pride,” saying their stance “does not reflect the genuine warmth and acceptance of Pride that can be seen across Denmark and especially in Copenhagen.” Then came a crowded City Council meeting on April 24, which Hailey attended. The local pride group amended their proposal, nixing the rainbow crosswalks and asking that pride banners featuring a rainbow-colored windmill and the message “Solvang Pride / All Welcome” be raised for two weeks in June. “I was struck by how much of the debate over displaying LGBTQ+ Pride banners for an entire month became about the Rockwellian ‘brand’ of a rural tourist town,” she told me this week. One woman told her: “I’m here to stand for businesses that will get hurt. A whole month is taking away the rights of other people who don’t want to have it in their face.” The public speakers at the event included both supporters and detractors of the banners, with comments ranging from pleas to protect Solvang’s “brand” to condemnation via Bible verses to personal experiences of some of the city’s queer residents. “My family is not a political matter,” one gay business owner told city leaders. “Having those banners up shows, for us, that this valley is an accepting place, when there’s so many loud voices, especially sitting on this council, that are not.” In the end, two councilmembers voted against the banners — with one citing concerns of another “Budweiser fiasco” — while three voted in favor, meaning the banners are approved to fly next month. Hailey stuck around after the contentious meeting and despite the division on display, found some inspiration in the community, too. “The night after the tense City Council meeting, around 50 people showed up to a community ‘werkshop’ put on by The Rainbow House to learn how to better support the LGBTQ+ youth,” she shared. “Most in the room were straight allies.” One of the speakers was Cash Whitney, a 15-year-old who is pansexual and gender fluid. Hailey recounted how Cash took the time to carefully explain to an older crowd how to handle a situation where you accidentally say the wrong pronouns. Basically, just show grace and listen, Cash said. “I am a normal teen, despite what these labels might mean to you,” Cash said.”It’s really tough, with all the things going on in our community ... It’s all terrible, and it really rocks me to my core. But just seeing all of you here today, ready to help ... really rocks me deep in my core but in a much more positive fashion.”