Skol! These Vikings raise their flags for charity, buoying those burdened by medical debt
Your morning catch-up: Solvang’s Vikings are a welcome sight, World Cup fans flocked to LA classics and more big stories.
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Around noon Saturday, 100 Vikings sat in formation in Solvang, Calif., a Danish-immigrant hamlet founded in 1911 about 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
The marauders, some horned and others wearing red jerseys, gathered and rowed.
They sat on the ground of a local park. Not far away lay a replica Viking longship, a smaller version of the vessel used by their spiritual and ancestral kin to explore and raid from North America to North Africa a millennium earlier.
At that moment, these Vikings joined millions of others globally rooting for Norway, which faced old rival England in the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup in Miami.
Call it Scandinavian solidarity.
“Just because Denmark didn’t make it to the World Cup didn’t mean we’d be on the sidelines too,” said Kim Jansen, chief of the group called the Vikings of Solvang.
Saturday’s rowing event was part rally, part awareness campaign for the Vikings of Solvang, whose medical fundraising is welcomed by those they serve.
Jensen and vice chief Al Ferrer spoke with Essential California about his group’s philanthropy in between sets of rows.
Who are the Vikings of Solvang?
The nonprofit organization consists of about 200 volunteers, and there are chapters of Vikings scattered throughout the West Coast that easily put members in the thousands.
Santa Barbara’s club aims on “advancing the well-being of Santa Barbara County citizens through medical assistance and volunteerism for the past 50 years,” according to its description.
Oftentimes that’s paying a medical bill — an unpaid $5,000 ALS treatment, or $8,000 in dental repairs post a car accident — according to Jensen and Ferrer.
Other items purchased by the group have included wheelchairs, lifts and payments for cancer treatments.
Showing them the money
In that endeavor, the Vikings donate between $200,000 and $250,000 in needs-based grants annually, Ferrer said.
“It’s kids with cancer; it’s the neediest of the neediest that we help,” Ferrer said.
The group raised around $100,000 at its charity golf tournament in June, according to Ferrer.
The Vikings have given away about $3.2 million in grants since their inception in 1974, according to Jensen.
Donations range from a few dollars to a record $1.67-million gift in 2024.
Everyone is welcome
The Vikings’ aid also goes beyond medical assistance.
The group hosted a free luncheon last December for more than 1,000 kids in the area with Autism spectrum disorders, their families and teachers, Ferrer said. There, the Vikings also distributed gift cards and vouchers totaling more than $450 for the more than 200 teachers.
“The need is always there, and it’s always great,” Jensen said.
About every two months, the group also hosts dinners for its most elderly guests, something that amused the 80-something Ferrer.
“I was older than almost all of them,” Ferrer said, “but that’s fine. We had about 60 people a week ago, and it was great to connect.”
Why not cheer for Norway
Saturday’s gathering was a “last-minute” call by Ferrer and Jensen, who were inspired by seeing traveling crowds of Norwegian fans performing the team’s row.
“We thought, ‘Why not us too?’” Ferrer said. “Let’s cheer on those Vikings and let people know about what we’re doing. It’s a win-win.”
The week’s biggest stories
World Cup 2026
- World Cup fans are flocking to classics In-N-Out, Erewhon and Trader Joe’s for a taste of California.
- International soccer enthusiasts have flocked to big brands from the area, often in large groups wearing their countries’ jerseys.
- California soccer fans sue StubHub after it fails to deliver expensive World Cup tickets.
- Los Angeles hotels were saved by a last-minute surge in World Cup bookings.
- Opinion: The World Cup drove Mexican Americans back to their roots.
- Opinion: Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium proves to be one of the biggest stars of the 2026 World Cup.
California nuttiness
- Redland’s deputy police chief was California’s highest-paid public employee in 2025.
- State records show $1.26 million in total compensation.
- We tried upscale Erewhon’s viral ‘sacred’ water. Is it possibly worth $1 per ounce?
Crime, courts and policing
- A fitness influencer is gunned down after confrontation with robbers in a Bel-Air shootout.
- Miguel Angel Aguilar, 43, owner of a popular chain of gyms, was shot dead during an attempted robbery in 2024.
- A man and woman were found fatally shot inside Westwood home in a possible murder-suicide.
- A driver gets jail time after brake-checking a semi-truck in road rage crash.
Weather, fires and health
- A Strong El Niño pattern is now a virtual certainty, forecasters say.
- That could have a major impact in California, as strong El Niños significantly tilt the odds of expected winter weather outcomes.
- The Summit fire along the Los Angeles-San Bernardino County line continues to grow amid Southern California’s heat wave.
- Safety concerns over solar panels were raised a year before massive Boyle Heights warehouse fire.
- Here’s what Californians should know about the diarrhea-causing cyclosporiasis that exceeds 1,000 cases in U.S.
What else is going on
- Legendary Television City may be sold in further blow to Hollywood.
- Model Emily Ratajkowski’s viral essay on sex life as a single mom scores her a seven-figure book deal.
- Nonprofit group that helped run the L.A. Zoo for more than 50 years is now bankrupt.
Must-read
A U.S. Forest Service plan to use glyphosate in a burned forest spurs a reckoning in Tahoe: How much should people do to bring forests back?
Other must-reads
- Into big air: Paragliding’s extreme frontier.
- These wolves returned to California, but their eating habits have sparked alarm.
- Opinion: Californians rallied to save the coast 50 years ago, and Trump is spoiling the celebration.
- Opinion: Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s killing is a strike at the heart of Mexicans in the U.S.
For your downtime
Going out
- Sunday, Funday: Actress Deidre Hall shares her perfect Sunday Funday, including lunch at Santa Monica’s The Courtyard Kitchen.
- Heading for a swim? Here are the 15 best beaches in L.A. County.
- Stay cool: Hansen Dam Aquatic Center’s pool is one of the largest in America, and it’s packed with beach vibes and fun.
- Hong Kong nights: Michelin-starred goose under $50? 10 must-try Hong Kong restaurants.
- Movie review: The titanically misguided live-action remake of ‘Moana’ is missing the heart in its ocean.
Staying in
- Great tunes: Here is every Rolling Stones album ranked, from worst to best.
- Television Review: ‘Little House on the Prairie’ stays true to the spirit of the novel, if less so its letter.
- 🥗 Here’s a recipe for Chaos fruit salad.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.
L.A. Affairs
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
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Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Hailey Branson-Potts, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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