Grillaftenen fortsætter, selv når grillen bliver kold.

Danish, like German, very often makes compound nouns by joining words together.

• grill = grill / barbecue
• aften = evening
• grillaften = barbecue evening / grill evening
• grillaftenen = the barbecue evening

So English often uses separate words where Danish prefers one combined noun.

The ending -en is the definite article attached to the noun. In English, we usually put the before the noun, but in Danish it is often added to the end.

• en grillaften = a barbecue evening
• grillaftenen = the barbecue evening

So grillaftenen fortsætter literally means the barbecue evening continues.

For the same reason: -en makes the noun definite.

• en grill = a grill
• grillen = the grill

In this sentence, Danish is talking about the grill in a specific situation, not just grills in general.

The base form is fortsætte, which means to continue.

• fortsætte = to continue
• fortsætter = continues / is continuing

So:

• Grillaftenen fortsætter = The barbecue evening continues

Because Danish often uses the present tense in places where English also would, especially for:

• general statements
• vivid descriptions
• things happening as part of a situation

So Grillaftenen fortsætter sounds natural as The barbecue evening continues or The barbecue evening goes on.

Selv når means even when.

• selv = even
• når = when

So:

• selv når grillen bliver kold = even when the grill gets cold

It introduces a contrast: the evening keeps going despite the grill no longer being hot.

They are close, but not identical.

• selv når = even when
• selv om = even though / although

In this sentence, selv når fits because it refers to a time/situation: when the grill gets cold.

Examples:

• Selv når det regner, går vi ud. = Even when it rains, we go out.
• Selv om det regner, går vi ud. = Even though it is raining, we go out.

Sometimes both can work, but selv når highlights the situation occurring, while selv om highlights concession/contrast a bit more directly.

Because bliver means becomes / gets, while er means is.

• grillen er kold = the grill is cold
• grillen bliver kold = the grill gets/becomes cold

So the sentence focuses on the change of state: the grill was hot, and then it becomes cold.

After a subordinating conjunction like når (when), Danish normally uses subordinate clause word order, which keeps the subject before the verb in a straightforward way.

• når grillen bliver kold

Here:

• grillen = subject
• bliver = verb
• kold = adjective/predicative

That is the normal order for a subordinate clause.

In standard Danish, a comma is often used before a subordinate clause.

So:

• Grillaftenen fortsætter, selv når grillen bliver kold.

The part after the comma, selv når grillen bliver kold, is a subordinate clause introduced by når.

English punctuation is less strict in exactly the same way, so this comma may feel slightly more noticeable to English speakers.

Because kold agrees with grillen, and grill is a common-gender noun.

• en grill → common gender
• predicate adjective with common gender singular: kold

Compare:

• Grillen er kold. = The grill is cold.
• Huset er koldt. = The house is cold.

Here:

• grillen is common gender, so kold is correct.

It is a perfectly natural kind of Danish formation. Even if a learner has never seen it before, it is easy to understand because Danish freely builds compounds.

So a native speaker would immediately understand grillaften as something like:

• a barbecue evening
• an evening centered around grilling

This is very typical Danish word-building, and learning to spot compounds is an important skill.