The Danish Festival is Greenville’s yearly celebration of family, friends coming home, and the area’s Danish heritage. The festival’s own site lists the 63rd Annual Danish Festival for August 20 to 22, 2027, and says the festival draws crowds of over 55,000.
How it started. According to the festival, a 1964 contest asked for a way to promote Greenville. Mrs. Dorothy Oliver won with the idea of a day honoring the town’s Danish heritage. The first Danish Festival was held on August 18, 1965. Today a 12 to 20 member board and hundreds of volunteers run it. It incorporated as a nonprofit in 1968 and earned 501(c)(3) status in 2015.
What happens on festival weekend. The festival’s 2026 pages listed:
- The Meijer Grand Dansk Parade on Cass Street (Saturday, 11 a.m. in 2026)
- The Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tale Parade for kids and the Fireman’s Parade (both Friday evening in 2026)
- The Danish Dash 5K and Kid’s 1/2 Mile Fun Run at Baldwin Heights Elementary School
- The Tivoli Gardens Beer & Entertainment Tent at Tivoli Square, 313 S. Lafayette St., run with the Greenville Rotary Club
- Free kids’ activities on Lafayette Street by Montcalm Street
- The Miss Danish Festival Scholarship Pageant, the Artisan Fair, the downtown food court, and a raffle
The festival site also has photos from its 2024 drone show.
Festival contacts. Questions go to the Danish Festival office at 616-754-6369 or information@danishfestival.org. The office is at 311 S. Lafayette St., Suite 103, Greenville. Schedules, registration, and vendor applications are on danishfestival.org.
Reaching festival crowds on WGLM. WGLM M106.3 broadcasts from Greenville on 106.3 FM and 1380 AM and streams on m1063.com and Live365. It covers Northern Kent, Montcalm, Newaygo, Mecosta, Isabella, and Ionia counties. Businesses that want to reach festival-week listeners can ask about advertising. Call or text WGLM at 616-754-1063, or fill out the partnership form on the Advertising & Business Partnerships page. The studio is at 9181 S Greenville Rd, Greenville, MI 48838.