The culture festival “A Taste of Iceland” was held in collaboration between Icelandic authorities and 11 companies in Washington DC last weekend. Attendees could taste Icelandic food, listen to live music and watch films.

Lay Low was among performers in Washington. Photo by Páll Kjartansson.

Hlynur Guðjónsson, Iceland’s consul and trade representative in North America, told Morgunblaðið the festival had been a great success.

“The concerts were popular; both Of Monsters and Men and Lay Low played to a packed hall,” he said, adding that there was room for 2,000 people in the audience.

Þráinn Freyr Vigfússon, master chef at the Reykjavík restaurant Kolabrautin, inside the Harpa concert and conference center, cooked up Icelandic delicacies at RIS in Washington.

“Þráinn chose to cook Icelandic char, cod, lamb and skyr, serving skyramisu […] for dessert. It was well received, as were side dishes like dulse and hot spring-baked rye bread. The restaurant was full all weekend,” Hynur continued.

Þráinn also appeared in interviews at the NBC and FOX television channels and overall, the festival was given extensive positive coverage, Hlynur stated.

“We held a comparable festival in Boston in March and were equally well received. One can sense increased interest in Iceland,” he concluded.

ESA