A mostly free 4-day Icelandic culture festival is coming to North Brooklyn

Expand your understanding of Iceland beyond “that place which looks like a moon and has cheap layovers and dope looking hot springs,” into an actual understanding of the country this month at a four-day food, art and Icelandic culture festival coming to North Brooklyn.

In what sounds like a precursor advertisement for the tourism industry-promoting Icelandair stopover flights, the Taste of Iceland celebration will promote the country through a variety of edible, watchable, design-oriented and otherwise interactive events ranging in price from expensive to free. Everything will be taking place in Brooklyn’s northern reaches (a parallel to Iceland?), across multiple Bushwick, Williamsburg and Greenpoint venues. There will be a pricey ($55/per person) four-course meal offering from September 28 to October 1 at Norman in Greenpoint, prepared by a big name Icelandic chef with plenty of cameos by “Iceland’s signature spirits” Reyka Vodka and Brennivin (does that mean America’s signature drinks are Bud and Bud Light?). Over at Nitehawk Cinema, Iceland’s Premier Short Film Festival will be running for free at 7pm on September 28 (RSVP on Facebook), and on September 29 there will be a free discussion of Icelandic design with Ingibjorg Greta Gisladottir of Reykjavik Runway at Artists & Fleas in Willyb.

Also on the 29th, the aurora borealis will be giving a guest talk about the country’s health insurance (not really, but that’d be pretty dang neat / challenge all established knowledge of the abilities of electrons).

Toes successfully dipped into Icelandic food and design, next comes the literature and music. On the 30th of the month there will be a free storytelling workshop with Iceland’s first lady, writer Eliza Reid, and Icelandic translator Lytton Smith at Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers. There will also be a free concert – “Reykjavik Calling” – at the Knitting Factory. Last up, on October 1, Bjorg Stefansdottir of the Icelandic Art Center will tell you about the country’s contemporary visual arts scene at Okay Space.

Have you ever met those people who go to Epcot in Disney World and start saying they’ve been to the countries represented there? Well, you can’t pretend you’ve been to Iceland just because you went to an Icelandic themed party in Williamsburg, but you will likely have quite a few fun facts (including that you met the first lady) for the next time all your friends are raving about how they want to go to the actual, physical country. And you’ll possibly have sufficient fodder to write a thought piece entitled “Iceland: The next Brooklyn.”

Bushwick, Williamsburg and Greenpoint combined don’t have this much natural beauty. Not even close.

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