The Great Fish Day

Fiskidagurinn mikli was held in Dalvik from 2001 to 2023 - twenty times, the last in August 2023 - and the organisers have said it will not take place again; it worked on one rule: nobody paid for anything. Fishing companies and townspeople put on stalls along the harbour and through the town serving fish soup, grilled and smoked fish, plokkfiskur and whatever else the boats and the plants have contributed, and tens of thousands of visitors come to a town of about fifteen hundred people. The evening before, residents open their kitchens for the soup night, where anyone can walk into a garden and be given fish soup by the household. There is no entry fee and no charge at any stall.

The main sights

• Free food throughout - no charge at any stall, by design.
• Tens of thousands in a small town - about fifteen hundred people live there.
• A soup night in private gardens - households feeding whoever comes.
• Fish soup, grilled, smoked, plokkfiskur - the range the boats supply.

When to go

The festival ran on a Saturday in early August and has not been held since 2023; check locally before planning a trip around it. A day.

Good to know

The festival ended with its twentieth edition in 2023, and what is described here is how it ran: accommodation in the area was booked out months in advance and the roads and parking were overwhelmed. Queues at the popular stalls are long. Icelandic August weather applies, and most of this is outdoors.

Nearby

Akureyri is south along the fjord; Hrisey is offshore from Arskogssandur.