BOSTON TO HOST 2nd ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF ICELANDIC CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT THIS SPRING

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Agenda

• Chef Chef Jóhannes Jóhannesson
  Friday, March 18 through Tuesday, March 22.
• DJ Baldur
  Friday, March 18: 1:30 – 6:00 a.m. at RISE
  Saturday, March 19: 10:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. at Think Tank
• amiina
  Saturday, March19th
• Iceland Film Screening at Kendall Square Cinema
  Sunday, March 20th

Boston prepares to host a Viking invasion this spring with A Taste of Iceland in Boston!  The week-long event will offer Bostonians a chance to discover the wonders of Icelandic culture and lifestyle through a series of events in and around Boston from March 18-22, 2011.

After taking Boston by storm in 2010, the second annual multi-day cultural festival makes a return in 2011 through a variety of public events, including Icelandic culinary promotions, free live musical performances, a film festival and ongoing nightlife happenings.

What connection does Boston have to Iceland, you may ask? For starters, it’s the closest European point of entry and only a 4.5 hour non-stop flight from the Hub. Icelandair is headquartered in Quincy and offers daily direct flights to Reykjavik, which is a little known, but secret hotbed of culture, fashion and food.

CUISINE:

A four-star foodie favorite will be given an Icelandic twist when Chef Jóhannes Jóhannesson enters the kitchen at Rialto Restaurant on Friday March 18 through Tuesday, March 22.
Otherwise known as “Chef Jói,” the co-owner and head chef at Reykjavik’s Seafood Cellar Restaurant was named “Chef of the Year” two years in a row by the World Association of Chef Societies. A gold medalist in the World Culinary Cup in 2010, he specializes in preparing New Nordic cuisine and finding the best local ingredients Iceland has to offer. Chef Jói’s Seafood Cellar Restaurant, which is located in the oldest cellar in Reykjavik, was featured in Condé Nast Traveler’s “Hot Tables” List.

Rialto Restaurant, located just across from the Charles River in Cambridge, was named “One of the Top 20 New Restaurants in the Country” by Esquire magazine and “One of the World’s Best Hotel Restaurants” by Gourmet. James Beard award-winning Chef Jody Adams is known for her imaginative use of New England’s ingredients in her regional Italian cuisine.

• When: March 18 – 22
• Where: 1 Bennett Street Cambridge, MA 02138Visit
  http://www.rialto–restaurant.com/home/ or call 617.661.5050 for reservations.

MUSIC:

DJ Baldur, also known as DJezus, was named “The Best DJ in Boston” two years in a row by the Boston Phoenix. A native of Iceland and a resident at Make it New, he’ll be spinning the turntables at two of the hub’s hottest late night venues.

• When: Friday, March 18^th, 1:30-6:00 a.m.
• Where: RISE, 306 Stuart Street Boston, MA 02116
  http://www.riseclub.us/

• When: Saturday, March 19^th, 10:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m.
• Where: Think Tank, 1A Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA 02139 http://www.thinktankcambridge.com/

amiina, a string quartet formed by four girls at the Reykjavik College of Music, is now a sextet due to a recent masculine infusion. amiina also performed as the string section for Sigur Rós for nearly a decade. They released their second full-length album Puzzle in 2010. Their music, which has been described as “rhythmically rugged,” will be performed during a free concert at The Middle East Downstairs on Saturday, March 19^th. www.amiina.com
                          http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/

• When: Saturday, March 19^th, doors open at 8:00 p.m.
• Where: The Middle East Downstairs, 472-480 Mass. Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139
  http://www.mideastclub.com/

FILM SCREENINGS:

Area moviegoers will have the chance to see something different at the box office. Mamma Gógó and award-winning Children of Nature were both directed by Iceland’s own Thor Fridriksson. A free double screening will be held at Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge on Sunday, March 20^th.
Mamma Gógó documents a film director’s personal journey while dealing with his mother’s disappearance into Alzheimer’s disease. Children of Nature tells the story of an old man who leaves the Iceland countryside for a senior citizen’s home, and ends up finding his long-lost love.  Children of Nature received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1992.

• When: Sunday, March 20^th at 6:30 and 8:00 p.m.
• Where: Kendall Square Cinema, 1 Kendall Square Cambridge, MA 02141