‘Taste of Iceland’ coming to Ballard

This weekend is a tribute to all things Icelandic, with food, art and music from Iceland descending on the city. Staple & Fancy will be offering a four-course Icelandic dinner, the Nordic Heritage Museum will be opening a new exhibit featuring Icelandic authors, and Neumos on Capitol Hill will feature four Icelandic bands in a free event called Reykjavik Calling.

Tonight through Saturday, Oct. 13, Ballard’s Staple & Fancy (4739 Ballard Ave NW) is offering a “Taste of Iceland,” offering a special menu from an award-winning Icelandic chef. Chef Hákon Már Örvarsson, Bocuse d’Or recipient and World Culinary Cup winner, will be cooking up a four-course Icelandic menu with restaurateur Ethan Stowell, where they will feature everything from Icelandic lamb to Atlantic shrimp and pickled vegetables with lumpfish caviar. The cost is $45 and reservations can be made by calling 206-789-1200. (Here’s a look at the menu)

The Nordic Heritage Museum (3014 NW 67th St.) will be opening their exhibit, “Fabulous Iceland: From Sagas to Novels – Portraits of Contemporary Icelandic Authors” on Friday, Oct. 12. “Through a series of interviews, journalist Pétur Blöndal asked 23 contemporary Icelandic authors to describe their relationships with Icelandic literary traditions and the influence these traditions have on their work. The result is an Icelandic literary history, distilled into individual short stories and coupled with portraits taken by Kristinn Ingvarsson,” according to the event information.

The museum will host an opening celebration on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. where Icelandic exhibition creator and journalist Pétur Blöndal will join Professor Christine Ingebritsen, Director of the Center of Western European Studies at the University of Washington, for a panel discussion on the creative process of writing and the differences between literary traditions and history across cultures. The cost is $6 for adults, and there will be cocktails and appetizers from 6 to 8 p.m.

Also at the museum is an exhibit called “Diverse Landscapes of Iceland,” photography by Bill Stafford. (Photo above by Stafford)

Friday, Oct. 12 is Reykjavik Calling, featuring Icelandic bands Apparat Organ QuartetSudden Weather ChangeÁsgeir Trausti, and Seattle band The Redwood Plan. The free show is at Neumos (925 E. Pike St) at 8 p.m. and is 21+.

To learn more about A Taste of Iceland, click here.

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