Attend Islendingadagurinn
Welcome / Velkomin to the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba / Islendingadagurinn! Plan your trip, book your flight and prepare your Viking Ship to set sail to the annual festival celebrating Icelandic culture and heritage in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada, held every August long weekend.
Dates for the 136th Festival: August 1, 2, 3 and 4, 2025
Learn more about
Hi!/Hæ
- People from across Canada, North America and across the world travel to Gimli to celebrate Icelandic culture and heritage as part of the largest, longest running Icelandic festival in North America.
- The festival is not-for-profit, sustained by the generous support of our donors and corporate sponsors.
- We are small and mighty, the entire festival is ran with one full-time employee, summer staff, and many many volunteers (including our board of directors) that make the festival possible.
- Our hundreds of volunteers assist with event planning and operations, many of our volunteers are multi-generational, following in the footsteps of their amma and afi and langamma and langafi.
Festival/ hátíð
- Icelandic Culture and Heritage watch Viking re-enactors battle it out and learn about the Old Norse way of life. Enjoy Icelandic food, beverages, meet cultural partners, dignitaries and view beautiful traditional Icelandic costumes, and more.
- Music and Entertainment enjoy live music from Canadian and Icelandic musicians by the harbour, in the park, even on the rooftop – all weekend long. Watch participants. Earn your honorary Icelander status at Get Dinged. Enjoy the weekend midway and evening fireworks.
- Sports and Rec burn off the weekend calories at our annual running race events or play a leisurely game of Fris-Nok in the park. Bring the whole family to compete in the family sports competitions.
- Play and Stay shop a variety of food and craft vendors and official festival souvenirs. Stay the weekend in beautiful Gimli and attend the annual parade – one of the largest in Manitoba!
Prepare / undirbúa
- Eat: The town of Gimli has many different dine-in and take-out restaurants to choose from. Visit our food truck alley in the harbour area for access to many gourmet food-truck options. Pack a cooler and enjoy a picnic at the park or beach. Visit Amma's Kitchen in the park for traditional Icelandic food.
- Drink: A variety of Gimli shops sell bottled water as well as you can find free water on tap at Vingólf Beer Gardens in the harbour area. Vingólf Beverage Gardens is also the perfect place to enjoy a cold drink other than water.
- Weather: The weather Gods can change their minds at moments notice. Come prepared for the sun (sunblock, hats, sunglasses) and rain (umbrella, raincoat, sweater). Anything is possible on Lake Winnipeg
- Money: There is a credit union (Access) and bank (CIBC) available in Gimli and the Lakeview Hotel and Resort has an ATM on site. Most vendors take debit/credit but come prepared with cash for those that don’t.
- Festival Pass: Want to guarantee your entry into our busiest events and head to the front of the crowd? Check out our limited festival passes.