Attention, please! Dateline: Iceland is moving to a new format: every month we will now bring you a fresh Dateline with a few stories you can breeze through in minutes - no more waiting to hear what’s new in Iceland. Read on for the first of this new-look Dateline…

Free Music From Native Son Mugison

“Free” is our favorite word, and now we’re bringing you some of our favorite music. Singer/songwriter Mugison is one of the fastest-rising stars of the Icelandic music scene, and now he’s released his U.S. debut album, Mugimama! Is This Monkey Music? Dateline readings may download the single “Murr Murr” for free by logging onto www.icelandtouristboard.com. Mugison tried his hand at many jobs before picking up a guitar, working as a sailor in Russian waters, a messenger boy and a clown at a children’s hospital, but music became his true calling. Listen to his inspired recording and maybe you’ll be called to check out his music some more.

The Name Says It All: Food and Fun Festival Is Back

Join us for the Fifth Annual Food and Fun Festival, February 22 - 25, 2006 - where the finest in Icelandic ingredients and culinary skill come together. World acclaimed chefs collaborate with Reykjavik's best restaurants and compete with each other to create a gourmet cook-off the size of a city. If you like the Food Network, this one’s for you.
Each chef is assigned to one of the participating restaurants, where they prepare a special menu, made out of all Icelandic ingredients. The menu is presented at all the restaurants for an entire week. In addition, the chefs themselves are on site for three nights during the festival week. On the last day of the festival, the chefs are given thirty minutes to shop for ingredients, and three hours to prepare a three-course meal that is judged in a competition which takes place at the Reykjavik Art Museum and is open to all. Come eat, learn few new recipes, and see why Icelandic is quickly becoming one of the leaders in delicious European cuisine.

Icelandic Health Food Is At Whole Foods

Skyr is a non-fat milk product that has been part of the Icelandic diet since the 11th century. It was the food of Vikings, and has since been one of the most popular foods in Iceland. Whole Foods, a grocery chain focusing on healthy foods, will now stock skyr in many of its stores, beginning with locations in the Mid-Atlantic States. Skyr is rich in protein and vitamins, while at the same time low in calories, and is served in a variety of ways. It tastes like a combination of yogurt and cream cheese and is often served with a mixture of milk and cream, like sauce on a pudding, and can be made into great desserts. Try some out, find your favorite way to eat it and tell your friends you’re on the Viking diet.

Santa Rides Again

Christmas in Iceland means candlelight church services, hearty buffets, Christmas elves and… Santa on horseback? That’s right, the jolly guy was spotted recently on the back of an Icelandic horse, the famously docile horses brought here by the Viking ancestors of modern Icelanders. The Icelandic horse isn’t the biggest, but some people think it has the biggest heart out of all the breeds in the world. The soft, sturdy and friendly animals were brought to Iceland over 1,000 years ago by the Vikings and have remained a pure breed since then. Thousands of travelers every year choose to trek through the beautiful countrysides of Iceland astride the native horses and return with nothing but praise for the animals. Most of their noses don’t light up like Rudolph’s, but Santa’s influence may be especially strong in a land as magical as Iceland.