Reykjavík Grapevine - júl. 2020, Blaðsíða 18

Capitalists, Celebrate!
How to celebrate Merchants'
Weekend 2020… like a consumer
Words: Poppy Askham Photos: Art Bicnick, Timothée Lambrecq, Gu!n" Ag & Subject's Own
Legend has it that every August a
great and mighty Icelandic boat
dude would disembark his vessel
and pass out on the shoreline after
a couple of brennivin-fuelled cho-
ruses of “Ja Ja Ding Dong.” And thus
Merchants' Weekend was born.
(Don’t quote us on that one).
You’ll find the Grapevine Party
Crew strewn across the island this
bank holiday, celebrating capital-
ism in true Icelandic style: attend-
ing a series of enriching cultural
events.
Innipúkinn 2020
July 31st-August 2nd -
Gamla Bíó - 4,990-8,990 ISK
So you’re stuck at home in Reyk-
javik instead of passing out in
a sheep-filled field somewhere
near Sau!árkrókur? Boo hoo. Quit
moaning, you can still get shit-
faced in the capital and they’ll even
throw in some great music too. In-
nipúkinn was started 18 years ago
for city dwellers who value qual-
ity sound systems and even higher
quality acts and couldn’t be both-
ered to make the traditional trek
into the countryside for Merchant’s
Weekend. Indoor demons (the liter-
al translation of “Innipúkinn”) can
enjoy a stellar line-up this year—
Reykjavíkurdætur, GDRN, Skoffín
and gugusar, to name but a few.
The crème de la crème of Icelandic
music, access to actual bathrooms
and going home to a real bed (fin-
gers crossed)—we’ll let you do the
math.
Aimlessly wandering
around Vestmannaeyjar
2020
July 31st-August 2nd -
Vestmannaeyjar
Ok so "jó!háti! is cancelled this
year, but in the light of the festival’s
troubling history, maybe that’s not
something to get overly worked up
about. Don’t fret, a puffin in the
know tells us that the Westman
Islands is actually worth visiting
sober, so why not go anyway? The
region boasts phenomenal hiking
routes and a fab volcano museum.
And for the foodies, local restau-
rant Slippurinn offers some of the
best of Nordic cuisine. Time to
start living it up large in the West-
man Islands, folks.
Reykjavík Live
Every weekend July-August -
Dillon Whiskey Bar
There was no Secret Solstice festi-
val this year (which we’re still sad
about) but the crew behind the fes-
tival is now putting on this special
concert series at Dillon Whiskey
Bar. If COVID’s ruined your holiday
plans or you simply can’t summon
enough mental energy to venture
out of the house, the whole thing’s
going to be live-streamed. Better
than nothing, right? Much better in
fact because this Merchants' Week-
end BENSOL, Rokky, GG Blús and
Fox Train Safari will be gracing the
Dillon stage.
Samúel’s Art Festival
July 31st-August 2nd -
Selárdalur - 5000-9000 ISK
You like art? We got art. Ok, more
specifically we’ve got a shit ton of
Samúel Jónsson’s art. That’s right,
the Westfjords beloved “artist with
a child’s heart” has a whole festi-
val dedicated to him—we’re talk-
ing guided walking tours, family-
friendly workshops, food, coffee,
and more!. There’s even going to
be a play about the legend’s life at
Kómedíuleikhúsi!. But it’s not all
about Samúel, there’s some other
great artists featured too, includ-
ing Magnús Thor Sigmundsson
and Monika Abendroth. All of this
quirky goodness is going down in
Selárdalur. The Westfjords is where
it is AT.
The Berjadagar Festival
July 30th-August 2nd -
Ólafsfjör!ur - 9500 ISK
The Berjadagar Festival is just as
charming as you’d expect a festi-
val named after a blueberry to be.
Ólafsfjör!ur will be transformed
for the weekend into a classical
music hub, not that we needed any
further excuse to visit our favourite
of northern Iceland’s ski-obsessed
towns with back-to-front pools
that are deepest at the point of en-
try. Each night there’ll be a series of
performances from Icelandic musi-
cians in the town church and the
Tjarnarborg Culture House—both
of which have acoustics that even
Prince Albert would envy.
BEST OF REYKJAVÍK
Best Place To
Buy A Wool
Sweater
Handprjónasamband
Íslands
Skólavör!ustígur 19
“This is a no-brainer,” one pan-
ellist said, the moment the cat-
egory “Best Place To Buy A Wool
Sweater” came up. “Handprjóna-
samband Íslands is the real-deal.
It’s real Iceland. Many places
mass-produce and import their
lopapeysa nowadays, but there,
you’re buying a freshly-knitted
sweater directly from the mak-
er who is probably a Grandma
that poured a lot of love into
it.” Stacked from floor to ceil-
ing with cosy woolly goodness,
the store offers sweaters, gloves
and more, in every colour of the
rainbow.
RUNNERS UP
Red Cross
Laugavegur 12 & 116 &
Skólavör!ustígur 12
The Red Cross is not only the
cheapest option for a second-
hand wool sweater, but it’s also
one of the more unusual spots
to pick one up. Racks of sweat-
ers of various styles and vintages
greet you at the stores, and while
perusing, it’s easy to imagine
you’re snatching up something
owned previously by a Westf-
jords farmer named #órgrímur.
Hey, you could be.
Farmers Market
Laugavegi 37 & Hólmasló! 2
For a different take on the Nor-
dic-style sweater, look no further
than Farmers & Friends. Their
designs update the traditional
garment into a fitted and dis-
tinctly high-street getup. Pair
it with fitted trousers and heels
and you’ll blend right in at any
Scandinavian fashion event.
18The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 05— 2020Best of Reykjavík
Ásgeir says celebrate capitalists, not celibate capitalists!* *we just made this up
Joy, Sustainability
& Honesty
Kaupvangur 17 - Egilsstadir
tel: +354-471-2450
Happy Hour
all days 15 - 19
Best selection of Icelandic
Beers in the East
Private rooms & dorms
Homemade cakes & soups,
vegan & friendly food
Mon ciel,
mi cielo.
What do you
really mean?
Ingibjörg
Sigurjónsdóttir
17.06. - 06.09. 2020
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