The Ties That Bind Us

Hey there, beloved High Five Club members and prospective members,

It's your friends at the Reykjavík Grapevine (Opens in a new window), popping back into your inbox with a hello and to bring you the latest reads from our mag.

FROM THE MAG

Our new issue hit the streets of Reykjavík this morning!

It’s Pride week in Reykjavík — yes, we celebrate in August instead of June like many other countries — and the city is aflutter with rainbow flags, a newly painted Pride street on Vegamótastígur and the annual Pride Parade on the horizon (Saturday at 14:00, to be exact).

To mark the occasion, we connected with the board of the Icelandic BDSM Organization to talk about being under the umbrella of Iceland’s national queer association, Samtökin ‘78, safety and consent within their community and the advocacy being carried out for BDSM-oriented individuals. Read Catharine Fulton’s feature right here (Opens in a new window). 

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Also in our latest issue, Francesca Stoppani recaps another raucous weekend at the Norðanpaunk festival, where heavy music meets with warm DIT community vibes and camping. Give it a read here (Opens in a new window).

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Other weekend reading from the Grapevine

• Jóhannes Bjarkason explores the growing popularity of Samtökin ‘78’s youth clubs (Opens in a new window).

• Árni Hjörvar visit's Ragnar Kjartansson's phenomenal retrospective in Copenhagen (Opens in a new window).

• Una Torfa talks national tour, queer culture and writing the Reykjavík Pride anthem (Opens in a new window).

• Irina Shtreis reviews indie gods Pavement's recent three day residency at Harpa (Opens in a new window).

TUNE IN

Have you ever flown in a helicopter? For a recent edition of her Islanders series, Iryna Zubenko spent the day with helicopter pilot Gísli Gíslason (Opens in a new window) to learn about his passion for his job and what the life of a helicopter pilot entails. 

Watch the video companion to that article right here (Opens in a new window).

LISTEN UP

August is a party month in Reykjavík and what’s a party without some amazing music? Curious about what we’ve been listening to here at Grapevine HQ? Stream our new weekly music podcast right here (Opens in a new window).

Valur Gunnarsson’s series exploring alternative outcomes to key events in Icelandic history is done and dusted and you can read the entire thing right here (Opens in a new window).

To dive deeper into each of the hypothetical scenarios he presents, we recommend reading Valur’s book, What If Vikings Had Conquered The World? And Other Questions of Icelandic and Nordic History. It’s available in the Grapevine Shop (Opens in a new window).

And if you want even more alternative reality, be sure to tune in to the Grapevine’s Alternative History of Iceland podcast, where Valur and Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson delve deeper into a new “what if” in each episode. If you like history, alternative reality or middle-age dudes talking about stuff that never happened, this podcast is for you (Opens in a new window).

That's it from us this week. As always, thanks for your support.

<3 Team Grapevine

If you were a member of our High Five Club, this post would have included an exclusive early access link to view our newest YouTube video content, plus sweet discount codes for the Grapevine store and travel portal. Want that?