Two Santa Ynez Valley residents are putting their home town at the center of a new holiday tale with the release of Ferd and the Magic Hat: A Solvang Christmas Story, a children’s picture book inspired by the town’s Danish roots and annual Julefest traditions.

The book, written by Adam and Kate McHugh and released Nov. 1, follows Ferd, a Danish nisse who awakens in a wooden windmill at the start of the Christmas season. Ferd’s glowing hat has enough light to power Christmas in Solvang — until it’s snatched by a stork, sending him on a scramble through the village to retrieve it before that evening’s tree lighting.

“This is a quirky, joyful, and delicious holiday adventure through the streets of Solvang for children and their grownups who read it with them,” Adam said in the announcement.

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