13:30-15:30 FOLK ARTS SYMPOSIUM
Edda, hús íslenskunnar

What's going on? The folk arts community in Iceland today
At the Vaka Folk Arts Festival each year, Vökufélag hosts a symposium in collaboration with the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies at Edda - The House of Icelandic. The title of this year’s event is Hvað er á seyði? (English: What's going on?). 

The seminar will bring together representatives from a range of organisations, from accordion lovers' societies, to folk dancers, and academics to handcraft workers, who will present their activities and the challenges they have faced in recent years. After a break for coffee and kleinur (Icelandic doughnuts), the second half of the event will be devoted to panel discussions where representatives of the various organisations will discuss the state of folk arts in Iceland today and traditions for tomorrow. 

Moderator: Kristinn Schram. Free admission. 

The hall opens at 1 p.m. 

20:00 GÁRUR
Salurinn

Opening Concert of Vaka 2026

Vaka 2026 opens with a festive evening where music, dance and living folk traditions come together in one place.

The Reykjavík Folk Dance Association, celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, will present a special performance reflecting both the long history of the association and Iceland’s vibrant dance traditions.

The evening also features Polish musician Ania Broda, often described as one of the most original voices on the Polish music scene. Her music brings together folk heritage and artistic experimentation in a unique way, creating a musical world that is both captivating and full of surprises.

FUNI, the musical collaboration of Bára Grímsdóttir and Chris Foster, celebrates the release of their new album Gárur (“Ripples”). For decades, they have devoted themselves to the performance, research and sharing of Icelandic folk music, playing an important role in introducing it to audiences both in Iceland and abroad.

At the heart of Gárur are Icelandic folk songs and poems spanning several centuries. Once sung unaccompanied, they are now presented in new arrangements featuring voices, langspil, kantele and other traditional instruments, woven together with recordings made in the Icelandic landscape. The natural world from which these songs emerged becomes, in a sense, a third member of the ensemble.

Like ripples on water, these songs have been passed from generation to generation, continually evolving while remaining rooted in the lives and experiences of the people who shaped them. With Gárur, Bára and Chris celebrate this living inheritance, honouring both the past and the present while carrying these songs forward to future generations.

17:00-21:00 ÞRÆÐIR
Salurinn

Welcome to a pleasant afternoon and evening, where crafts, stories, songs and folk traditions are intertwined in one event. The foyer of Salurinn will become a gathering place where people are encouraged to bring their knitting, embroidery, crochet or other crafts and enjoy the company in a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere. 

Members of the Icelandic Home Crafts Association will be on site, demonstrating crafts and providing guidance to those who wish to learn new skills. As the evening progresses, ethnographer Rósa Þorsteinsdóttir will lead guests into the soundscape of the Ísmús.is website, with specially chosen archive recordings from Icelandic cultural heritage and tell about the stories and songs that can be found there. 

Later, Kristinn Schram will host a live podcast about folk arts and living traditions in Iceland today. The podcast evening builds on a remarkably varied programme of this year’s festival and offers engaging conversation and reflections on the role of folk arts in today’s world. 

ÞRÆÐIR (English: Threads) is an event for anyone interested in crafts, stories and cultural heritage — or who simply wants to have a good time in good company. Guests can come and go as they please, or sit down with their crafts and follow the programme from afternoon to evening. 

Admission is free. Light refreshments will be available for sale on site.

14:00 Day of rímur songs - Children's Concert in Salurinn

The 15th of September is the national annual Day of Rímur Songs, and continuing Vaka’s tradition of the past few years, we proudly present a concert where young performers who are learning one of Iceland’s oldest singing traditions take to the stage under the guidance of experienced singers. 

The Kársness School Choir, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, performs folk and rímur songs in beautiful arrangements, including Þýtur í stráum, which Sigurður Rúnar Jónsson arranged for the choir in 2000. 

The choir has held many concerts in Iceland and abroad and released several albums. The choir's conductor is Álfheiður Björgvinsdóttir. 

A singing group from Hjallasteinn Primary School in Reykjavík will perform a selection of rímur songs and verses that they have learned with their teacher Kolbrún Hulda Tryggvadóttir. 

The Laufásborg Children's Rímur Society, founded in 2023 at the Laufásborg kindergarten, brings us our youngest performers at Vaka each year, led by Ari Hálfdán Aðalgeirsson. The celebrated rímur singer Steindór Andersen was one of the children's first teachers in this special Icelandic tradition. Other performers who have taught the Laufásborg children include Bára Grímsdóttir and Rósa Jóhannesdóttir. 

This charming concert introduces the audience to Iceland’s rímur (kveðskapur) tradition performed by children and young people, and shows how this ancient singing tradition is being passed on through the voices of new generations. 

The concert begins at 2 p.m. and admission is free. 

20:00 RÍMNAFÖGNUÐUR
Salurinn

Contemporary Rímur at Vaka

On the Day of Rímur, September 15, Vaka presents its annual Rímnafögnuður (Rímur celebration), celebrating Iceland's unique rímur tradition. This year, newly composed Icelandic rímur will be performed for the very first time.

A younger generation of rímur singers and poets will present works written especially for the occasion, demonstrating that the rímur tradition remains a living art form in constant renewal.

Performers include Kristján Hrannar Pálsson, Ásta Sigríður Arnardóttir, Ragnheiður Gröndal, Emil Baur and Þorsteinn Björnsson. Host for the evening will be Rósa Þorsteinsdóttir. 

An evening where new voices engage with one of Iceland’s oldest artistic traditions.

12:15-13:15 Natural dyes - Man and nature
Natural Museum of Kópavogur - Cultural Wednesdays
Guðrún Bjarnadóttir from Hespuhúsið

17:00-21:00 RÆMUR
Salurinn

Film Night at Vaka

For one evening only, Salurinn concert hall is transformed into a cinema, screening three very different films that shed light on the lives, work and dreams of folk artists.

The evening begins with a screening of the folk dance documentaries Gamli marsinn and Hávan dansinn hefjum followed by discussions led by experts. Afterwards, guests are invited to stay, enjoy refreshments and conversation before the programme continues with A Mighty Wind, the beloved mockumentary that has long since achieved cult status among folk music enthusiasts – at once a love letter to the 1960’s New York folk scene and a humorous satire of it.

Food and drinks will be available for purchase between screenings, including gourmet sandwiches from Króníkan and a selection of beverages.

12:15-13:00 Langeleik for over 500 years
Kópavogur Library
Ingrid Lingaas Fossum, musician, folk dancer and Norway’s 2025 Folk Musician of the Year.

17:00 Swimming Pool Culture in Iceland
A UNESCO Representative of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

TBA

20:00 RÖKKURTÓNAR
Salurinn

Icelandic and Norwegian Folk Music on One Stage

On Friday evening, Vaka brings together Icelandic and Norwegian folk music in one of the festival’s major musical events.

UMBRA is an Icelandic folk ensemble made up of four musicians who share a deep fascination with Iceland’s storytelling and musical traditions. Their music is characterised by voices, string instruments and percussion woven together in refined arrangements that draw listeners into a distinctive sound world. In their work, they have explored, among other themes, the stories and lived experiences of Icelandic women in earlier centuries. The ensemble received the Icelandic Music Award for their album Sólhvörf and has spent many years presenting Icelandic folk music to audiences around the world, including throughout Europe and in China and India.

Ingrid Lingaas Fossum has established herself as one of Norway’s leading folk musicians. Her solo album Eit halvt tusenår / Half a Millennium won the best solo album of the year, and she was named Norwegian Folk Musician of the Year in 2025. She has received widespread acclaim for her playing of the langeleik, one of Norway’s oldest and most distinctive traditional instruments, and has played an important role in introducing it to new generations of listeners.

Vegar Vårdal is one of the most dynamic fiddlers on the Norwegian folk music scene. He was named Norwegian Folk Musician of the Year in 2020. As a performer, composer and dancer, for many years he has been a prominent force within Norwegian traditional arts. He played an important role in the 2025 publication of Icelandic fiddle tunes Danslög Jónasar and he led a series of workshops, teaching the tunes to teachers and students. This year, he has been involved in teaching and arranging dance tunes for Icelandic string students. 

Vegard Hansen is a Norwegian accordion player, composer, and teacher at the Ole Bull Academy, with deep roots in Norwegian folk music tradition. He also serves as director of hardingfela.no, in collaboration with the Hardanger and Voss Museum. 

Ingrid, Vegar and Vegard are also highly respected teachers, and Vaka guests will have the rare opportunity to participate in workshops under their guidance.

Folk arts activities for the whole family at Kópavogur Cultural Houses

Handicraft, story telling, Icelandic and Faroean folk dances, dance tunes for fiddle, music seminars for polish speaking families, and many many more events throughout the day.

11:00-17:00 Folk Arts Market
Salurinn

Handicraft, books, textiles etc.

10:30-11.30 Norwegian Folk Dances
Molinn
Ingrid Lingaas Fossum & Vegar Vårdal
Registration announced in August.

11:30 - 14:00 Men's Traditional Icelandic Hat Knitting Workshop

On Saturday, September 19th from 11:30–14:00, Guðný Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir will lead a hat knitting workshop (in Icelandic) at the Kópavogur Library, where participants will learn how to knit a traditional Icelandic man's hat (skotthúfa). 

The workshop is suitable for those with basic knitting knowledge (can cast on). There is room for 30–40 participants.

Yarn is included in the price, but participants are also welcome to bring their own yarn and choose their own color scheme. Single-strand or similar yarn is recommended. Common colors for hats are blue, black or dark red as the main color, with red for stripes, but of course other colors are available.

Participants are asked to bring a 40 cm long circular needle, both 2 mm and 2.5 mm.

Schedule: 90 min + 45 min workshop, plus 15 min coffee break.

Registration and participation fee will be announced in August.

11.30-12.30 Dance Tunes with Vegar Vårdal & Vegard Hansen
Molinn

Icelandic and Norwegian dance tunes for all instruments - Open workshop for all instruments 12 years and older.

Registration announced in August.

11:30-13:00 Dialects of the Redwing
Náttúrusafn Kópavogs

The Natural History Museum of Kópavogur is currently working on collecting, analyzing, and mapping the song dialects of redwings in Iceland. Using recordings of the main dialects of redwings in the capital region, the lecture will cover the language, song learning, and communication of redwings.

The museum received a grant from the Museum Fund in 2026 for a community-based approach to research work. The life of the capital region's concrete jungle will be studied with the participation of residents, young and old alike. The project builds on earlier research and recordings by Hlynur Steinsson, with plans to begin a broader collection involving city residents in spring 2027. The project is being carried out in collaboration with a similar project in Norway, which is focused on redwing dialects there. How many different redwing dialects are there in Iceland? Do the redwings of Iceland and Norway share a common cultural heritage?

12:30-13:30 Icelandic Folk Dances
Molinn

In this course participants will be introduced to Icelandic folk dances and learn about the dances danced in Reykjavík in 1864.
Circle dances, Reels, Waltzes and Bömerdans are among the dances that will be taught.

Atli Freyr Hjaltason and Elizabeth Katrín Mason will instruct the course. They are both experienced teachers and performers and have traveled the Nordic countries (and more) where they have taught and performed folk dances.

11:30–12:30 Children's and Family Hour of Folk Music and Dance
Bókasafn Kópavogs
Children, parents, younger and older siblings, grandmothers, grandfathers, and friends share a quality time together with songs, singing games and action songs. The session is split into two parts:
11:30–12:00 for children aged 1–5 and their families
12:00–12:30 for children aged 6–11 and their families

The session is led by Bára Grímsdóttir and Chris Foster. Bára is one of Iceland's foremost traditional singers and composers and has spent decades working to preserve and share Iceland's folk music heritage. She comes from a family of traditional singers, having grown up surrounded by the songs of her parents and grandparents at the family farm of Grímstunga in Vatnsdalur, and has served for many years as chairperson of the Iðunn Folk Music Society (Kvæðamannafélagið Iðunn). In 2019, she was made a Knight of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon for her work preserving and renewing Iceland's musical heritage. Chris Foster is an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist - a master of his trade - who plays guitar and langspil. Together, Bára and Chris have performed for many years as the duo Funi, releasing the albums Funi (2004), Flúr (2013) and their latest release Gárur (2026). 

12.30-13.30 Polish Folk Games with Music Workshop
Bókasafn Kópavogs

In this workshop, participants discover traditional Polish folk games, songs, and simple dances through a lively music and movement programme. Suitable for all ages and requiring no prior experience, the workshop shares Polish culture in a fun, accessible way.

The workshop is led by musicians Jacek Karwan and Anna Maria Tabaczyńska. Anna Maria is a flutist based in Iceland who has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts and remains active in Iceland's Polish cultural community, including work supporting Polish children and youth in the country. Jacek is a double bassist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra who has performed as a soloist internationally and played under renowned conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy and Sir Neville Marriner. 

13:30-14:30 Icelandic Rímur Singing with Ragga Gröndal
Bókasafn Kópavogs

In this workshop, participants will discover and explore the centuries old Icelandic rímur tradition, where narrative poems are performed using distinctive tunes, or "stemmur," which are chosen and shaped by the individual performer. For generations, rímur were Iceland's foremost form of entertainment, and the tradition lives on today, in large part thanks to kvæðamannafélög (rímur societies) that have kept it alive from one generation to the next.

The workshop will be led by Ragnheiður (Ragga) Gröndal, a musician and member of Kvæðamannafélagið Iðunn, which was founded in Reykjavík in 1929 to preserve and continue the art of 'kveðskapur', the poetic and singing styles associated with the Icelandic rímur tradition.

Participants will have the chance to try singing verses with different stemmur and experience firsthand how this living oral tradition still resonates today. The workshop is open to anyone with an interest in Icelandic vocal tradition, regardless of prior experience.

14:30-15:30 Faroese Dance Workshop with Sharon Weiss and Kristian Blak
Bókasafn Kópavogs

In this workshop, participants discover the Faroese chain dance — a circle dance that has survived in an unbroken tradition since medieval times and remains deeply woven into Faroese culture and language. The session covers the dance's historical origins and how it has been taught and passed down to the present day, along with an introduction to the rhythmic and melodic character of the ballads. Participants will learn simple steps and refrains and dance 2–3 excerpts from the Faroese dance repertoire, with the story of each ballad explained before it's danced. Everyone in the room takes part.

The workshop is led by Sharon Weiss and Kristian Blak from the Faroe Islands. As part of the groups Spælimenninir and Kvonn, Sharon has played recorder around the world since the 1970s. She is a dedicated folk dancer and instructor who has worked to bring both Faroese dance and folk dance into schools. Kristian is a composer and pianist involved in a wide range of musical activities — he composes for international classical ensembles, performs locally, and tours internationally as a musician and band leader with jazz, folk, and world music groups.

14:00-15:30 KRAKKAVAKA
Salurinn

Family Concert

A family concert featuring children and young people presenting the results of their work with the teachers and mentors participating in the festival. The programme includes folk songs, dance tunes and fiddle music performed by young musicians.

Free admission. Everyone is welcome.

19:00-23:30 VAKA PARTY
Salurinn

An evening of poetry and dance 

Vaka 2026 concludes with an event that brings together everything the festival stands for: music, dance, poetry, storytelling and community.

The evening begins with a lively celebration of the Icelandic art of hagyrðingur (traditional improvised verse), hosted by Eva María Jónsdóttir and Pétur Blöndal. Poets and versifiers from younger and older generations alike will take on a variety of themes in a spirited display of wit, creativity and wordplay.

Afterwards, the Reykjavík Folk Dance Association transforms the foyer of Salurinn into a dance floor, inviting guests to join in a folk dance ball accompanied by musicians from Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway. Everyone is welcome to join in, whether they know the steps or not.

Food and refreshments will be available throughout the evening, and the bar will be open.

Those who prefer to leave the dance floor to others are, of course, very welcome to bring along their knitting or handicrafts and enjoy the atmosphere from a comfortable distance.

Featuring:

• Members of the Reykjavík Accordion Society

• Kristian Blak and guests from the Faroe Islands

• Ingrid Lingaas Fossum, Vegar Vårdal and Vegard Hansen (Norway)

• The Reykjavík Folk Dance Association