Get a taste of Iceland at this new cultural festival in NYC

Forget the six-hour flight. You can experience Iceland this month without ever leaving New York City.

Taste of Iceland is coming to NYC for the first time on May 10-13 bringing a cultural festival featuring an interactive cocktail-making class, a sound bath with an Icelandic energy healer and a concert featuring Iceland’s hottest new artists. Events will pop up in venues across the city; most are free and open to the public.

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The four-day festival celebrates the best of Icelandic food, beverage, music, film, art, literature and wellness, giving Americans a peek at the land of fire and ice. While Taste of Iceland has been held in other cities before, this is its first visit to NYC.

Heads up that you'll have to get tickets in advance, and you've got to show up on time to guarantee entry. If you can't score tickets in advance, don't worry. For many events, unclaimed tickets will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis, on location 30 minutes before each event. Not all events are free, so check the website in advance. 

Here's the Taste of Iceland schedule

Multiple dates 

• Icelandic menu at Coarse NYC: Taste Icelandic flavors and ingredients such as seafood, lamb and skyr at this pop-up dinner series. Coarse NYC’s Head Chef Vincent Chirico, in collaboration with Blue Lagoon Iceland Head Chef Arnar Páll Sigrúnarson, will lead the pop-up dinners. Reservations are available here from May 10-12. The four-course prix-fixe menu is $149/person including wine pairings.
• Singing Fish Circus Art and Literature Festival: Experience a festival of music, books, art, performances and poetry, bringing a taste of Reykjavík’s vibrant art scene to Brooklyn. Highlights include a live concert, an art exhibition and a "Moon Night" featuring a limited run of new books from Icelandic authors all lit by the pale light of the moon. Events take place on May 12-13 in Brooklyn. Here's the full schedule.
• Wheel of prizes: Keep an eye out for this Icelandair prize wheel to win cool stuff, including a trip for two to Iceland. Here's where to find the prize wheel. 

Thursday, May 11 

• Secrets of the Sprakkar with Eliza Reid, First Lady of Iceland: Join Eliza Reid, the First Lady of Iceland and co-founder of the Iceland Writers Retreat, as she discusses her critically acclaimed book, Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland's Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World. Free event tickets also include a copy of her book. The event is at 7pm at Scandinavia House. Grab a ticket here.
• Iceland Airwaves Off Venue: Hear some Icelandic music at this free concert. On the lineup: Rising pop star Guðlaug Sóley Höskuldsdóttir (a.k.a. gugusar), punk trio GRÓA, and DJ Hermigervill. The show's at 7pm at Pianos. Tickets here.

Friday, May 12

• Icelandic cocktail class: Shake up your Friday with a free Icelandic cocktail class. Jeffrey Naples, Reyka Vodka’s brand ambassador and mixologist, will teach you how to make tasty Iceland-inspired cocktails at home. Class begins at 5pm at The Tippler beneath Chelsea Market. Register here.
• Beautiful Beings film screening and director Q&A: Watch a free screening of Beautiful Beings, Iceland’s submission to the 2023 Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, then ask director Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson your questions. The movie starts at 7pm at Regal Union Square. Sign up here.

Saturday, May 13

• Elemental sound bath and breakfast bar: Join Icelandic energy healer Jósa Goodlife for an hour of inner peace and healing meditation. Sound Bath attendees will receive a complimentary Blue Lagoon Iceland yoga mat, an Icelandic Provisions beanie, an Icelandair blanket, Icelandic Glacial water and a Blue Lagoon Iceland Skincare gift. After the Sound Bath, guests are invited to an Icelandic Provisions Breakfast Bar. It's happening at Bogart House in Brooklyn. Learn more here.
• Icelandic literature event: Hear from writers Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir and Ragnar Helgi Ólafsson about their forthcoming books, Hyena called Yesterday and My Father's Library, at Scandinavia House. More info here.
• Artist talk: Visual artist Hildigunnur Birgisdóttir, who will represent Iceland at the 2024 edition of the Venice Biennale in Italy, will speak with contemporary art curator Dan Byers at Scandinavia House. Register here. 

The event's organized by Inspired by Iceland, which promotes Iceland and Icelandic products, with support from Icelandair, Visit Reykjavík, Icelandic Trademark Holding, Business Iceland, Isavia Keflavik International Airport and more.