Events in Vestmannaeyjar
Þjóðhátíð, Okrumótið, TM-mótið, Sailor's day, Þrettándinn, The puffin run, Westman Island Run, Goslokahátíð and Puffin rescue
Þjóðhátið - Music festival. On the island, in the Herjólfsdalur valley, during the first weekend of August, a music festival takes place. The island's population of about 4,000 people increases to 20,000 during this period. More information about the festival and festival tickets can be found at https://dalurinn.is/.
Orkumótið í Vestmannaeyjum - Sports competition for 6th league boys in football organized since 1984. The competition takes place in June or the beginning of July and during this period a large number of children arrive on the island. More about the competition here https://www.orkumotid.is/
TM mótið í Eyjum or Pæjumót - Sports competition for 5th league football girls organized since 1990. The competition usually takes place in June. More about this here https://tmmotid.is/.
Sjómannadagurinn - Sailor's Day, celebrated in Iceland and especially in Vestmanneyjar, at the beginning of June On this day, various entertainments are offered in the harbor, including cheap ribsafari rides, rowing competitions, inflatable children's playgrounds, model ship's competitions, pillow fight over water, the so-called koddaslagur, jumping into the ocean, training helicopters a sailor's ball, and much more. A very family-friendly event.
17 júní or 17 June - Iceland's Independence Day. Celebrated with ceremonial parades as well as organized meetings and entertainment. More about what one can do on the day of independence is announced in local newspapers.
Þrettándinn - In Iceland, we have 13 Santa Clauses, so the 13th or Þrettándinn is the holiday of the end of the Holiday season. This day is celebrated every year on January 6, but the ceremonial celebrations take place on the weekend. In Vestmannaeyjar during the celebration, we have a parade with Santa Clauses, trolls and Grýla and Leppalúði who are the parents of the Santa Clauses. 13 Santa Clauses descend from the mountains and go through the whole city parade to the center to the bonfire there. There is also the show of fireworks, fun and trance with trolls. All information about what is organized during this holiday is announced in local news and newspapers.
Program of Þréttándinn celebration 2020 https://tigull.is/threttandagskrain-a-polsku-og-ensku-program-obchodzenia-threttandinn-czyli-zakonczenia-swiat-program-of-celebrating-threttandinn-the-end-of-christmas/?fbclid=IwAR34n4naFAP1lxOangdmjk6sc3UTre7hK1ZMIBy7UecTAf-hzncWP3MeQ1U
The puffin run and Westman Island run - If you like sports and especially running, then this is something for you. Puffin run and Vestamnnaeyjar run are organized runs in Vestmannaeyjar. The puffin run offers a distance of 20km on the island of Heimaey. You can start solo or run with a group of 2 or 4 people and share the distance between each other. The Vestmannaeyjar run is divided into 5km, 10km or 21km. Registration for the race takes place through the website hlaup.is. The puffin run page: https://runninginiceland.com/the-puffin-run/ and the Westman Island run page: https://vestmannaeyjahlaup.is/is/page/upplysingar
Goslokahátíð – The Eldfell volcano eruption officially ended on July 3, 1973. On this occasion we celebrate the end of the eruption or Goslokahátíð which we celebrate on the first weekend of July. It is family fun, usually children's attractions are set up around the city. On Saturday evening there is a concert in the port where people party till dawn in the open air.
Puffin Rescue - Rescue of puffins only takes place in Vestmannaeyjar. Thanks to the recovery of the population of puffins that are our hallmark we have the honor of saving young pufflings. The reason why we have to rescue them is when the young are left alone and the parents leave, they start an independent life, try to fly and have to support themselves. When they learn to fly, they should fly from the mountains to the ocean, but they often fly to the lights in the city and go to the middle of the street and corners. In order to have a better chance of surviving, the residents drive around and search for lost pufflings and catch them into boxes in the evenings and nights. The next day we go to weigh them and write them down, this is done to help with the research of the reproduction of these birds. After measuring and records are done, we are going to let them free, but we cannot do it in the harbor! The harbor is sometimes contaminated with oil from ships and other things, and if the puffin get dirty with such oils they have a poorer chance of survival, that's why we have to go further from the port to let them free, for example to Stórhöfði beach or the golf course cliff. We always release puffins during the day. Link to information about puffin rescue https://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/nature_and_travel/2015/09/30/annual_baby_puffin_rescue/.
More about the events in Vestmannaeyjar can be read at http://www.visitvestmannaeyjar.is/category/baejarhatidir-og-vidburdir/?lang=is