AFTER THE 4TH, COOL DOWN WITH “A TASTE OF ICELAND” IN BOSTON

Boston, MA (June 22, 2007) – Boston plays host to Iceland, our coolest neighbors to the north, on Thursday, July 5 – Monday, July 9, for “A Taste of Iceland,” a five-day cultural event that includes Icelandic personalities, culinary delights, music, a film festival, and Icelandic products. (www.icelandtouristboard.com ) Iceland Naturally (www.icelandnaturally.com), in cooperation with Iceland Tourist Board, Reyka Vodka, Icelandair, Icelandic Seafood USA, and Iceland Spring Water is offering Bostonians the next best thing to being there, as well as a chance to win a free trip to Iceland from Icelandair.

Highlights of “A Taste of Iceland” include:

Icelandic Chef, Hakon Mar Orvarsson, Bronze Medal Winner of the Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest Cooks with Executive Chef Tom Holloway at the Rustic Kitchen,July 5 – 9 at 210 Stuart St. Boston) A specially designed menu - fusing Icelandic tradition with innovative insights of the celebrity guest chef, who dazzles diners at his esteemed Vox restaurant in Iceland with Boston’s hippest award winning restaurant - will feature fresh seafood and native products flown in daily from Iceland, all prepared in the Viking Kitchen Studio. A recent review of Orvarsson’s culinary expertise provides a scrumptious preview of his signature “Taste of Iceland.” He is known for working wonders with Iceland’s sublime trout, herring, and lobster. But nothing beats his foie gras terrine,stewed figs, marinated oyster mushrooms, buttery brioche, and 25-year old balsamic vinegar. That’s a combination that will vanquish any Viking or Red Sox fan’s appetite! (www.rustickitchen.biz)

Carberry’s Icelandic Bakery and Coffee House (74 Prospect Street) Featuring as its “Taste of Boston” - six traditional Icelandic confections from July 5-8. Hekla, a scrumptious named after a volcano in Iceland. Owner and master baker, Agust”Gusti” Gunnarsson, came directly from Iceland and founded Carberry’s in 1993. Gusti welcomes the opportunity to familiarize Americans with his native cuisine Hakon the Chef will provide his savory insights into the art of making Icelandic grand sandwiches with 100% Icelandic ingredients for the Ivy League Taste of Boston!

Icelandic music sensation Benni Hemm Hemm Concert, Friday, July 6, Doors open 9PM at Middle East (472/490 Mass Ave. Cambridge). With performances in Europe, Japan and the U.S., Benni Hemm Hemm provides a provocative musical taste of Iceland with his diverse talents described as “an energetic and evocative feel-good take on folk.” Known for his “cynical lyrics that make him shine,” this talented quirky Icelander’s “I Can Love You in a Wheelchair Baby” has captivated audiences around the globe. He is, as one critic wrote, “the heartthrob of Icelanders with his take on country pop.” Benni’s deep voice and guitar strumming style is complimented by an eccentric hearty brass band of nine musicians that leave audiences with a mind altering/pleasing experience! (For exact time of performance see www.bennihemmhemm.com.) Call TICKETMASTER for more information.

DJezus, (a.k.a. DJ Baldur, Baldur Hedinsson) (Thursday, July 5, 11:30 p.m. – 1 a.m. Middlesexlounge (315 Cambridge St, Cambridge) Saturday, July 7, 9p.m. -1 a.m., River Gods Bar and Restaurant (125 River St. Cambridge). Icelandic native, Boston resident, and 2007 winner of “The Best DJ in Boston” award by the Boston Phoenix, DJezus mesmerizes his fans here and abroad with his unmatchable “minimal tech house” and “electro house” beat. DJezus who characterizes his music as authentic “new rave” with a solid beat and beautiful melody views Boston as on the perfect track in furthering his art of spin: “The city is learning to both enjoy and dance to quality music while adding its own East Coast twist.”

Baldur mixes his acumen in music with study of applied mathematics and neuroscience at Boston University. In Beantown for only two years, the Icelander has risen to the top of his “spinning” class, and has collaborated with Rahul Quila, DJ Die Young, Skink, Nylonic, Davis Day and Mistaker, among others.

Baldur will return home for a special performance at the “Iceland Airwaves Festival” in Reykjavik, in October. (www.icelandairwaves.com) (See www.myspace.com/baldur)

Icelandic Film Festival Kendall Square Landmark, July 5, 7pm. Two screenings of Iceland’s hottest films will be featured at this special screening. The festival opens with "Salt," a feature about a young woman from the east coast of Iceland who embarks on a road trip odyssey with her sister’s boyfriend. Shot by American, Bradley Rust Gray, and filmed entirely in Iceland, using all-Icelandic actors, “Salt” provides an enticing cinerama of the iconic Icelandic countryside.

At 9 pm, "Cold Hearts Revisited: Short Film and Music Videos from Iceland” that premiered recently in New York. This fresh batch of films and videos from the vibrant Icelandic creative community features irreverent faux pop songs and edible instruments to escapist fantasies that encapsulate the enchanting and inventive spirit of this small island nation. This cinematic “Taste of Iceland” arrives in Boston fresh from its spring screenings in the Big Apple. (See http://www.packagedeals.org/events/cold_hearts_revisited.html) and April. http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/Boston/KendallSquareCinema.htm