Taste of Iceland…in Boston

March 6, 2013





While I prepare to dash off to Austin, TX for the 2013 SXSW (South by Southwest) Festival, I noticed I’d be missing one heck of a fun foodie time here in Boston. Starting this Friday, March 8 and going through Wednesday, March 12, the 4th Annual Festival of Icelandic Culture hits my hometown.

Original photo can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholasngkw/53187640/ – this used under Creative Commons. Photostream and info on the original photographer is available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholasngkw/

According to the release (full version at the bottom of this post), the celebration is bigger this year than in the past three years and features a…

…variety of public events, including Icelandic culinary promotions, a free live concert by Icelandic and local Boston artists, an art exhibit and a free film festival.

To really get involved and find out the schedule, organizers are all over the Web (making this an even more interesting tie-in to the interactive technology event I’m heading south for) and provided multiple ways to learn about Taste of Iceland.

For a complete schedule of events during A Taste of Iceland in Boston, please visit www.icelandnaturally.com, become a Fan on Facebook and RSVP to the A Taste of Iceland event at www.facebook.com/icelandnaturally and follow @IcelandNatural on Twitter.

Were I staying home, you know what I’d be doing. And the weather – after the coming Thursday and Friday snow – is supposed to be in the 50s all weekend.

Let me know if you go and send me photos if you take any. Would love to feature your recap – especially regarding the food – here on the blog!

Thanks!

Full Taste of Iceland Release…

4th ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF ICELANDIC CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT HITS BOSTON THIS SPRING

‘A Taste of Iceland’ Brings the Finest of Icelandic Cuisine, Music, Art and Film to Boston from March 8-12, 2013

(Boston, MA) — February 14, 2013 — Boston prepares to host its 4th annual Icelandic invasion this spring with A Taste of Iceland! The multi-day festival of entertainment offers Bostonians a chance to discover the wonders of Icelandic culture and lifestyle through a series of uniquely Icelandic events in Boston from March 8-12, 2013. 

After taking Boston by storm in the past three years, the annual cultural celebration returns bigger and better than ever in 2013 with variety of public events, including Icelandic culinary promotions, a free live concert by Icelandic and local Boston artists, an art exhibit and a free film festival.

What connection does Boston have to Iceland, you may ask? For starters, it’s the closest European country to North America and only a 4.5 hour non-stop flight from Boston’s gateway at Logan International. Icelandair is headquartered in Quincy and offers daily direct flights to Reykjavik, which is a vibrant hotbed of culture, fashion and food.

A Taste of Iceland is presented by Iceland Naturally, in cooperation with Icelandair, Reyka Vodka, 66° North, Blue Lagoon, Icelandic Glacial Water, Promote Iceland, Icelandic Group, Islandsbanki, , City of Reykjavik, Keflavik International Airport (KEF), Landsvirkjun, Fjardarlax, the Government of Iceland, Legal Sea Foods, Revere Hotel, Paradise Rock Club, WERS 88.9 FM, Arctic Salmon and Icelandic Brand Seafood.

For a complete schedule of events during A Taste of Iceland in Boston, please visit www.icelandnaturally.com, become a Fan on Facebook and RSVP to the A Taste of Iceland event at www.facebook.com/icelandnaturally and follow @IcelandNatural on Twitter.

A schedule of public events during A Taste of Iceland in Boston is as follows:

Reykjavik Calling – Free Concert at Paradise Rock Club

Saturday, March 9

For only the second time on the East Coast, Reykjavik Calling celebrates music emerging from both the cities of Boston and Reykjavik. This is an event not to be missed, as two Boston-area artists will be paired with two Icelandic counterparts to encourage collaboration on their performances, resulting in an evening of never-been-heard-before musical partnerships. Presented by WERS 88.9 FM, the free concert will feature performances from the following Iceland/Boston duos:

Admission to Boston’s Reykjavik Calling concert is free and limited to club capacity. Show is 18+. Doors open at 8:00 p.m., the concert begins at 8:30 p.m. For more Information, visit Paradise Rock Club at www.thedise.com.

Reykjavik Calling has been hailed by media across the country as a truly inspiring, one-of-a-kind musical experience:

“Reykjavik Calling: We stopped in and caught about half of last Saturday’s Reykjavik Calling show at The Paradise in Boston, where Icelandic musicians were matched with Beantown’s best before a packed house. All the principals gathered onstage for a grand finale, swapping off vocals on the old soul classic “Stand By Me.”

Patriot Ledger

“Reykjavik Calling returns to Seattle for a third year of exciting performances by some of the best musicians and bands emerging from Seattle and Iceland. This event of cross cultural musical exploration has struck a chord with Seattleits.”

Alt Sounds

Icelandic Menu at Legal Sea Foods

March 8-12

Guest Chef Fannar Vernarðsson, first place winner of Icelandic Dessert of the Year in 2012, and Chef Thrainn Freyr Vigfusson, Executive Chef at the renowned VOX restaurant in Reykjavík, have created a special Icelandic tasting menu to be offered exclusively at Legal Sea Foods. Sourcing the freshest ingredients straight from Iceland, the two chefs will collaborate to offer a unique, scintillating four course menu that will showcase the best of Nordic cuisine to Boston-area diners.  In addition, the restaurant will feature a custom-made Reyka Vodka cocktail; Reyka Vodka infusion, fresh squeezed and strained lemon juice, and simple syrup for $10.

The three course Icelandic Menu will be offered at three Boston Legal Sea Foods locations; Copley Place, Prudential Center, Park Square, and the four course offering will be served at Legal Harborside, Floor 2.

The 3-course Icelandic Menu will be offered for $32.95 (Copley, Park and Prudential), and the 4-course menu will be offered for $55 (Legal Harborside) and will include:

First

Marinated Icelandic salmon with fennel, rutabaga, artic char roe in spruce oil and horseradish dressing. 

Second

Pan fried Icelandic cod with potatoes dressed with Icelandic dulse, watercress salad and mussel sauce.

Main (only served at Legal Harborside, Floor 2)

Roasted shoulder of Icelandic lamb with sunchokes, onions, preserved lemons and lamb jus.

Dessert

Skyr Tiramisu style: Skyr mousse and spice cake served with coffee ice cream.

Reservations can be made by visiting http://www.legalseafoods.com/reservations.

Chef Thrainn Freyr Vigfusson, is one of Iceland’s most brilliant young chefs. In 2011 he took seventh place in the Bocuse d’Or, one of the world’s most prestigious international cooking competitions. In 2009 he was awarded the Silver Medal in the Scandinavian Chef of the Year Competition. In 2007 he was named the Icelandic Chef of the Year. Vigfusson if the head Chef of Kolabrautin, one of the latest additions to Reykjavik’s burgeoning food scene. Chef Vigfusson attended the Hotel and Catering School in Kopavogi, Iceland, graduating in 2005, and the Valrhona Grand School of Chocolate in 2007.

Chef Fannar Vernarðsson graduated on top of his class from The Icelandic Culinary School in 2007. He has worked at a number of fine dining restaurants in Reykjavík, including chef de cuisine at Einar Ben and VOX restaurant. Fannar is currently Executive chef at the renowned VOX restaurant at The Reykjavík Hilton. Fannar comes from Siglufjörður, a small town in Northern Iceland. In his kitchen, he focuses on the New Nordic Cuisine. He regularly takes his team of chefs with him to the countryside gathering local wild herbs, mushrooms and berries which they serve with a wild yet elegant style. Fannar has won awards for third place in chef of the year 2011 and first place in desert of the year 2012. One of his sous chefs at VOX restaurant, Sigurður Kristinn Laufdal, is competing for Iceland in Bocuse d´or in Lyon this year.

FABULOUS ICELAND: FROM SAGAS TO NOVELS – PORTRAITS OF CONTEMPORARY ICELANDIC AUTHORS

March 8 – 31

Discover Icelandic history through the literary art exhibit, “Fabulous Iceland: From Sagas to Novels – Portraits of Contemporary Icelandic Artists.” Through a series of interviews, journalist Pétur Blöndal asked 23 contemporary Icelandic authors to describe their relationships with Icelandic literary traditions and the influence these traditions have on their work. The result is an Icelandic literary history, distilled into individual short stories and coupled with portraits taken by Kristinn Ingvarsson.

On Friday, March 8, 2013, the public is invited to experience the Grand Opening Night for “Fabulous Iceland” at the sixth floor Gallery in the Revere Hotel Boston Common. Attendees will experience Boston’s first look at the compelling literary history of Iceland. Admission to the Grand Opening Night is free and open to the public, and attendees are invited to mingle and enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The exhibit will then be hosted in the Lobby of the Revere Hotel through Sunday, March 31, 2013 and open daily to the public.

The event will be held at the Revere Hotel located at 200 Stuart Street in Boston, MA. To RSVP, email Iceland@reganevents.com.

Free Icelandic Film Festival

Sunday, March 10

One day only Boston film fans are invited to enjoy free screenings of three Icelandic hit films on Sunday, March 10, at Theatre 1 in the Revere Hotel (200 Stuart St, Boston, MA, 617.482.1800). Admission is free. The Icelandic film festival will feature the following films:

3:00p.m. –Either Way is set in the 1980’s in the Icelandic Highlands. The film follows two mismatched employees of the Icelandic Road Administration as they spend the summer painting lines on the road that circles Iceland, and doing their best to survive each other.

4:30p.m. – Herd in Iceland is a short documentary about traditional Icelandic herdsmen, and the annual historic journey they take to the back country to round up thousands of the country’s hardy horses, which have spent the summer grazing in the highlands.

5:00 p.m. – Grandma Lo Fi is about Sigríður Níelsdóttir, 70, who began to record and release music from her living room. Seven years, 600 songs and 59 albums later she has become a cult figure in the contemporary Icelandic music scene. Captured on Super 8 and 16mm film, Grandma Lo-Fi takes us on a ride into the ordinary madness and boundless creativity of this eccentric old lady.

Win a Trip to Iceland Airwaves in Reykjavik!

To celebrate Icelandair’s long time service from Boston to Reykjavik, the public will be able to visit www.icelandnaturally.com and enter for a chance to win a trip for two to Reykjavik on Icelandair. For more information about Iceland Airwaves: www.icelandairwaves.is

About Iceland Naturally:
Iceland Naturally is a cooperative marketing organization that promotes the tourism, services, products and culture of Iceland. It represents the true essence of Iceland, its creativity and spectacular natural wonders. The group is comprised of Icelandair, Icelandic USA, Inc., Islandsbanki, Reyka Vodka, City of Reykjavik, Icelandic Glacial Water, 66° NORTH, Blue Lagoon, Keflavik International Airport (KEF), Landsvirkjun, Fjardarlax, Promote Iceland and the Government of Iceland.   For more information, please visit www.icelandnaturally.com.

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