Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.07.2007, Side 26

34_REYKJAVÍK_GRAPEVINE_ISSUE 11_007_DESTINATIONS
one *ca. 390 km two ca. 130 km by air three ca. 460 km four ca. 390 km
If you dislike the countryside or camping, or
if you just really like Reykjavík or (God-forbid)
have to work that weekend, Innipúkinn, the
festival for homebodies, might be just what
you need. Held this year at the new venue
Organ, the giant indoor music festival draws
a regular crowd of locals. It is in some ways
much like a traditional night out in Reykjavík,
with a light festival feel to boot. This year’s
line-up features, among others, Jeff Who?,
Mínus, Seabear and Forgotten Lores. On
Sunday between 16 and 20 there will be an
outdoor BBQ.
five 0 km
Reykjavík
Not to be confused with the hard-rock fes-
tival Eistnaflug, Neistaflug in Neskaupstaður
offers a world of down-home country fun.
Yet another small fishing village celebration,
the cuteness of the town is as much a draw
as anything else, although the dock-ball will
surely be a highlight. The year’s festivities in-
clude fire-hose-soccer (played like traditional
soccer with the exception that the goalie is
armed with a fire-hose,) a golf tournament,
and a bonfire, as well as musical performanc-
es by old school country-ball type musicians
Sigga Beinteins, Buff with Matti Papi, and
Todmobile. www.neistaflug.is.
six ca. 715 km
Neskaupstaður
A “sobriety-fest” in Galtalækur forest is a dry
alternative to the classic debauchery of the
Merchant’s Holiday, since it is illegal to bring
alcohol into the area. Family-folks can enjoy
the weekend with quality camping time out
of the city, conveniently removed from the
drunken masses abundant elsewhere. Attrac-
tions include a trampoline competition, an
evening bonfire, DJ-ing by Friðrik KD on Satur-
day and Sunday, as well as a mass preached by
Rev. Pálmi Matthíasson. The festival is free for
kids 14 and under, but otherwise a weekend-
pass is necessary. www.galtalaekur.is.
seven ca. 105 km
Galtalækur
An alcohol-free family festival, “Happy Days”
in Vatnaskógur, just north of Reykjavík, is
another safe choice for family folks look-
ing to enjoy good camping during the long
weekend, free from any drunken nonsense.
Entertainment for the kids includes a boxcar
parade, a gospel-workshop, a water trampo-
line, a theatre performance by the Happy Days
Performers, as well as an appearance by the
magician Jón Víðar. Pétur Ben, Góðufréttirnar,
and Björgvin Franz Gíslason will provide the
weekend’s musical entertainment. www.vat-
naskogur.net
eight ca. 50 km
Vatnaskógur
The summer’s drunkest long-weekend, Ver-
slunarmannahelgin, the annual Merchant’s
Holiday, will take place August 3 to 6. Cel-
ebrated throughout the country at vari-
ous outdoor festivals, the weekend is best
known and loved for its variety of musical
entertainment and general alcohol-induced
debauchery. Started in 1874 as a celebra-
tion of the 1,000th anniversary of Iceland’s
settlement, it was originally held in Reykjavík
and Þingvellir, the latter as a tribute to the
place where Danish King Kristján IX handed
over Iceland’s new Constitution as a self-rul-
ing nation. These days, the festival is less a
tribute to Iceland’s independence and settle-
ment and more about the right of the aver-
age workingman/woman to go camping and
get trashed.
That’s not to say that this weekend isn’t
great family fun. Most festivals are heav-
ily family-oriented and devote a majority of
their art program to children’s entertainment.
Yet the nature of the drunken beast is such
that little more than alcohol is needed to en-
tertain it, so once the official festivities end
the essence of Verslunarmannahelgin begins.
These days, the sheer size of the crowds has
become something for the books and, along
with the fresh country air, should be incen-
tive enough to get you out of the city.
A Guide to
Verslunar-
mannahelgi
1
2
3 4
8
7
6
5
*distance from Reykjavík in kilometres.
Akureyri’s newfangled “family-oriented” fes-
tival, Ein með Öllu, is by far the biggest of the
weekend’s festivals. Although eager to leave
behind the drinking-binge traditions of the
festival’s former name and alter ego “Halló
Akureyri,” it is undoubtedly one of the week-
end’s best parties. During last year’s Verslu-
narmannahelgi, Iceland’s second-city drew
a record number of 18,000 participants (on
top of the local population of 16,000) and
nonetheless offered some great PG fun for
kids, adults and teenagers alike. The “teen-
dance,” intended for 16+ is a definite high-
light. www.akureyri.is.
Akureyri
The oldest and most notorious outdoor festi-
val in the country, the party in the Westmann
Islands draws approximately 9,000 partici-
pants whose sole aim is to get their drunk on
in the fresh country hills of Herjólfsdalur val-
ley. Þjóðhátíð has the added bonus of sport-
ing some of Iceland’s more happening pop
performers; artists such as Sprengjuhöllin
and Í svörtum fötum are set to make enthusi-
astic appearances for the stumbling crowds.
Scheduled events end on Sunday evening
with the infamous “Brekkusöngur,” or Hill
Song, where just about the whole crowd
joins in for a sing-along. www.dalurinn.is.
The Westmann Islands
Possibly the most bad-ass thing you could
spend this weekend doing, the mud-ball
tournament in Westfjord town Ísafjörður will
be played Saturday and Sunday in the Tun-
guskógur recreation area. Played much like
a traditional soccer match, mud-ball is differ-
ent from soccer only in that the field in the
latter consists of a mud-pit, and the game
is subsequently much slower, muddier and
more hilarious. It is not recommended that
you start drinking until after your match (al-
though most fail to grasp the advice). You
must be at least 18 years old to play. www.
myrarbolti.is.
Ísafjörður
The Herring Adventure will be held for the
17th year in a row in the small picturesque
fishing village Siglufjörður on the north coast.
Named as a tribute to the town’s prosperous
herring industry, which was a huge economic
boom to the town and all of Iceland starting
in the early 20th century, the festival gives
small town flare and feeling to the otherwise
drunk-minded weekend. Along with a dock
fishing competition, a herring-salting exhi-
bition, carnival rides, and water-ski rentals,
the festival offers a traditional dock ball with
dance-pop favourite Páll Óskar to end the
festival. www.siglo.is.
Siglufjörður
Text by Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir
Sound of Geysir
Summer concerts
Saturday 28 July
Singapore Sling
The Way Down
Wulfgang
J.M.
Johnny & the Rest
International Women
of Music
at Hotel Geysir, Haukadalur every weekend in July
The show starts at 13:00
and it’s FREE