Midsummer Festival 2026

In the spring, Hermann Kroiher contacted the Association and expressed his interest in honoring Iceland at the upcoming VÖNL Midsummer Festival. Some of you surely know Hermann, as he is a regular at our Þorrablót every year and the life of the party. He was on the board of the Austria National Tourist Office for Iceland for twelve years and has visited our country about twenty times. He re-established the Austrian-Icelandic Society in Vienna, and that is where his connection to VÖNL comes in, as it is a rainbow partnership of other Austrian societies with the Nordic and Baltic countries. Every year, they hold a Midsummer Festival and feature one country as the guest of honor. Of course, we welcomed Hermann's idea and were more than willing to promote Iceland this year.

The Board attended the festival with a selection of the best food, drink, and singing. We offered guests dried fish, licorice, Icelandic pancakes, and pretzels. For those who wanted to try it and had the courage, we offered Icelandic schnapps. The Icelandic wool was on display, including both lopapeysas and beanies. Perhaps what brought the most joy was when the committee took the stage and sang a few well-chosen Icelandic folk songs. Wherever there are Icelanders, there is joy and singing. There was great interest in Iceland and Icelandic customs and culture. We on the committee were kept busy satisfying people's curiosity, and we had many conversations where we answered questions to the best of our ability.

The day and evening were a great success, and we are sure that we represented our country and nation well on this day, if we do say so ourselves.

We would like to thank Hermann Kroiher for this enjoyable event, and we hope that more of our fellow countrymen will attend next year!