Iceland ‘s winter games is warmer than Russia’s hateful Olympics

If it’s winter fun and games you are after, forget hateful Russia with its backwards mentality and plan to head to Iceland, a place where the likes of Bobby Fisher once sought refuge from the world.

If it’s winter fun and games you are after, forget hateful Russia with its backwards mentality and plan to head to Iceland, a place where the likes of Bobby Fisher once sought refuge from the world.

Below are just some of upcoming events in Iceland. If not the winter games, I’m quite certain there’s an event that will cater to your liking.

Iceland Winter Games – March 6-9
The Iceland Winter Games 2014 is the northernmost ski and snowboarding competition of the season. This is the inaugural year of the festival, being held between March 6-9. Icelandโ€™s first ever AFP slopestyle competition will take place on the picturesque mountain Hlรญรฐarfjall in Akureyri, the ski capital of Iceland. Itโ€™s a unique opportunity for skiers and followers to discover and experience this truly magnificent town, close to the Arctic Circle. After the slopes, the town of Akureyri will play host to off venue events, parties, DJs and concerts.

Winter Festivals
Itโ€™s not just design and fashion festivals dominating the event calendar in Iceland. See the long winter nights in Reykjavik illuminated at the Winter Lights Festival from February 6-15. Reykjavikโ€™s buildings and public spaces will come to life as colorful light-art installations are exhibited throughout the city. The world-renowned music festival Sonar makes its way to Reykjavik from February 13-15. Held for the second time, Sonar Reykjavik will feature established international acts such as Major Laser, Jon Hopkins and Bonobo as well as homegrown Icelandic talent such as Sisy Ey, Hermigervill and HE. If folk is more your thing, check out the Reykjavik Folk Festival from March 7-9. Itโ€™s the third year of the festival, held at Kex Hostel.

DesignMarch – March 27-30
March 27 to 30 will see Reykjavik become a design mecca with the fifth annual DesignMarch. DesignMarch 2014 is set to be the festivalโ€™s biggest year yet with an expected 150 events. The worldโ€™s northernmost capital will become the ultimate venue for design. Visitors can experience everything from fashion design and furniture exhibitions to architectural talks and open studios. The festival will showcase the best of the local design scene alongside exciting international names like Calvin Klein, who is set to speak at DesignTalks, the opening seminar of DesignMarch.

Reykjavik Fashion Festival – March 27 to 30
Calvin Klein is coming to town at the right time. Reykjavik Fashion Festival will run alongside DesignMarch from March 27 to 30. The Festival will once again showcase a host of established and up and coming designers. Ones to watch include Guรฐmundur Jรถrundsson, whose label Jร–R is a futuristic take on classic tailoring. Ziska, who has designed successful collections for Galleri Sautjan and E-Label as well as winning the Reykjavik Runway Design Competition in 2011, and ELLA, a slow fashion brand created by Elinros Lindal and a team of talented women, built on sophistication, respect and responsibility.

Icelandic Design Secrets
Guidoโ€™s Street Art โ€“ Move over Banksy, walls in Reykjavรญk have been given a dramatic new look thanks to the creative skills of underground street artist Guido. His larger than life murals are made using images from Icelandโ€™s theatrical past, selected from the archives at the Reykjavรญk Museum of Photography. Guido has literally changed the face of Reykjavikโ€™s buildings. See more here.

Katrรญn Sigurรฐardรณttir- Iceland is bursting with great art and artists. Check out โ€˜Foundationโ€™ by New York based Icelandic artist Katrรญn Sigurรฐardรณttir in the Reykjavรญk Art Museum until April 12th, before it is whisked off to the Sculpture Center in New York. This large-scale piece is made up of baroque-inspired tiles, which map out the floor of an imaginary 18thcentury pavilion. Katrรญnโ€™s work has been show extensively throughout Europe and America. She also represented Iceland with โ€˜Foundationโ€™ at the Venice Biennale, festival of contemporary arts in 2013.

Omnom Chocolate – Chocolate lovers! Omnom Chocolate is a new, hand made, organic chocolate producer in Iceland. The company is a collaboration between ร“skar รžรณrรฐarson, Kjartan Gรญslason, Karl Viggรณ Vigfรบsson and Andrรฉ รšlfur Visage, who made the package design. โ€œThe box represents a secret chest of happiness. The process of opening it up and the option of closing it again was important to me, in stead of a throw away wrapper. It double serves as a tray while sharing and enjoying Omnom and also a safety chest to protect any uneaten chocolate safely and neatlyโ€ Andrรฉ explains. The next line of bars will be out in February, keeping the same functionality of the packaging, with a new series of illustrations to go with the newly developed flavours. Get a bigger taste here.

Nordic Fashion Biennale Opens in Frankfurt – March 21
Icelandic fashion designers are on the rise, and the Nordic Fashion Biennale is the place to see it. After stints in Reykjavรญk and Seattle, the Museum Angewandte Kunst will host the third Nordic Fashion Biennale, opening on March 21st. The touring exhibition seeks to showcase a selection of young talents such as Mundi from the Nordic countries, as well as more established designers like Shoplifter. The Nordic Fashion Biennale is an investigation into the roots and inspirations of the emerging West Nordic fashion scene. Find out more here.

If you are interested in any of the above events, send me an email via [email protected] so that I could put you in touch with the right people.

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Nell Alcantara

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