In addition to the ongoing jazz, theater and dance festivals in Iceland’s capital, two other festivals will take place in Reykjavík this weekend.
Skólavörðustígur, leading up to Hallgrímskirkja. Photo by ESA.
From Friday, August 24, to Sunday, August 26, the fifth annual Melodica Festival takes place in Reykjavík.
The artists are young, upcoming musicians from Iceland, but also from Sweden, Germany, the US, UK, France and Australia, each of whom will perform for 30 to 40 minutes.
The idea of the Melodica Festival originally came from Australia: In 2007, Pete Uhlenbruch decided to give other musicians the opportunity to not only perform, but at the same time experience a sense of community and strong audience interaction.
The result was the first Melodica Festival, held in a coffeehouse in Melbourne with 18 artists participating. The artists and the audience appreciated the intimate atmosphere and the opportunity to interact directly.
The festival spread from Australia to places all over the world. Currently, there are annual festivals in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne), Germany (Berlin and Hamburg), Great Britain (Brighton), the US (New York), Denmark (Aarhus) and Iceland.
The Icelandic festival began yesterday and will continue today and on Sunday, taking place in four locations, starting at 4 pm at each venue.
The performances are held at Reykjavík Backpackers, Hjartaplaza, Hemmi og Valdi and Café Rósenberg.
Entry to all performances is free.
Also this Saturday, the second annual Bacon Festival takes place in Reykjavík.
It begins on Skólavörðustígur in the city center at 2 pm with a celebratory ceremony that includes live entertainment, facts about bacon and various dishes from around the world.
In the evening, there will be live music at Kex Hostel on Skúlagata 28, 101 Reykjavík.
The bacon festival is free as well.
Click here to read about the other ongoing festivals in Iceland’s capital and here to read about a festival in Akureyri, held to mark the town’s 150th anniversary.
NZ
