Posts Tagged ‘Birthday Party’
Afmæli Sódóma – Birthday Party on Friday 12. March 2010
Thursday, March 11th, 2010Culture Night: Reykjavik’s highbrow event for everybody
Monday, August 10th, 2009
Culture Night (Menningarnott in Icelandic) is one of Reykjavik’s biggest annual events and totally engulfs a Saturday in late August every year. This year it is going ahead on 22 August, so if you plan to visit Iceland then, be excited!
Formally speaking, Culture Night is the City of Reykjavik’s birthday party. The event has since morphed into a massive cultural event with more to do than can ever be done (excuse the irrelevant Lion King quote).
The streets of Reykjavik are thronged on Menningarnott, there are dance and music shows and all the museums and galleries stay open late with their biggest and best exhibitions of the year. In fact, there is hardly a shop, bar, restaurant, museum, gallery or “other” that doesn’t make some sort of effort for Culture Night.
Culture Night is not a night at all, because it actually goes on all day. So for an energetic early unofficial start to the Culture Night day (so to speak), it has also become a pleasant new convention over recent years to hold the Reykjavik Marathon on the same day, and cheering the runners home is a fun gesture they really appreciate. Meanwhile, Menningarnott itself gives marathon runners from all over the world an array of exciting options for rewarding themselves post-race!
Culture Night comes to a close, officially speaking, with what has to be among the longest and most impressive fireworks displays in Europe; but after the young families head home, the bars and clubs stay open and keep the party spirit going all night.
There is a new Culture Night theme every time with 2009 being all about ‘The Houses in the Town’ with tours, performances, exhibitions and other events to show off the variety in the city’s housing and the houses’ life and soul.
There is no more popular time of year for Iceland vacations than in August – and luckily the Merchants’ Weekend festivals, Gay Pride and Culture Night all happen then to add a little extra intrigue over and above the country’s stunning scenery, clean air and long, bright summer days.
Further details about Iceland travel, can be found on www.visiticeland.com
Photo: Flickr.com/olafur
(Advertisement)