Winter Festival 2026 The festival will be held from 5th to 8th February. It will take place in all six municipalities of the capital region.
This festival of light and darkness consists of three main pillars:
Museum Night
Swimming pool night
Light trail
A number of artists are taking part in 150 events and create a unique atmosphere in the capital region. All events are free.
Here in Hafnarfjörður, we are enjoying the Winter Festival. Our three museums;
The Library, Folk Museum and Harbour Town will have a programme on Friday, 6th February from 6 pm to 10 pm. The South Bay Pool will have extended opening hours on Saturday, 7th February. On Sunday, 8th February, the Hafnarfjörður Church, Hásalir and the Hafnarfjörður Music School will be illuminated with beautiful colours. We encourage families to go for a pleasant drive and enjoy the splendour of colour between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
This weekend is also the last chance to enjoy the splendour of the lights in Hellisgerði.
18:00
Flowers are being made – watch the flower-making.
As part of Eggert Pétursson's current exhibition at the museum, Doaa from Palestinian Flowers will create flowers from crepe paper in the space. The flower-making is based on a sensitivity to colour and form, much like Eggert's works, where the smallest plants become a grand landscape on the picture plane. Visitors are invited to observe the process as handmade paper flowers take shape within the exhibition, engaging with the surrounding works.
19:00 Tónflóð – sound healing with Vala Gestsdóttir Vala Gestsdóttir, composer, violist and yoga teacher, leads a deeply relaxing session in a site-specific installation by Una Björg Magnúsdóttir. With soothing tones, guests are invited on a journey that moves the body's energy flow, supporting balance, presence and inner stillness through the healing power of music. It is recommended to wear comfortable clothing and to bring a mat, cushion, blanket and perhaps an eye mask.
Three of the Museum of Settlement's buildings will be open on Museum Night: the Packhouse, the Sievertsen House and the Beggubúð.
The warehouse
A fun treasure hunt for the whole family.
18:00-19:00 A telescope workshop, where you can craft your own telescope and use it to take a closer look at the collection.
18:30 The Scouts from Hraunbúar play well-chosen songs.
20:00 Folklorist Bryndís Björgvinsdóttir will give the lecture: Elf settlements and sacred sites in Hafnarfjörður: The connection between superstition and worldview.
Sivertsen House
The National Costume and Jewellery Collection is exhibiting the bathhouse works from 18:00 to 22:00. There will be an opportunity to view the national costumes and jewellery of the couple, Guðrún Hilda Rosenkjær and Ásmundur Kristjánsson.
Boutique
Pop into Beggubúð and see what was available in the shops of Hafnarfjörður in years gone by.
Board games, sewing workshop, musical performances and record market
6:15 pm – 7:45 pm
A sewing workshop on the 2nd floor with the Home Team staff, aimed at the younger generation, suitable for little fingers who want to have a go at sewing. Materials provided.
19:30
The band LEA, formed by friends Katrín, Lára and Ella. Their music is inspired by indie-pop and folk music, with an emphasis on personal and lyrical lyrics. They draw inspiration for their songwriting from the people around them and the beautiful nature of their homeland. Two members of the band, Katrín and Lára, will play the guitar and sing new and older songs for visitors and passers-by.
20:10
A sewing workshop for advanced beginners. This is an opportunity to try your hand at traditional historical dressmaking under the guidance of master tailor Hugrún Óskar.
On Museum Night, visitors to the Winter Lights Festival can visit around fifty museums and see a wide variety of exhibitions in the capital region, as well as enjoy a lively and entertaining programme of events. Cultural institutions in Hafnarfjörður, the Library, the Folk Museum and Hafnarborg, also take part as usual. Admission to all museums and events is free for the evening.
Fókus, a society of amateur photographers, will be holding a photo exhibition on the Fjarðarkaup advertising hoarding during Museum Night, this coming 6th February. On the screen by the Fjarðarkaup car park, photographs from Fókus members will be shown, changing every hour on the hour, like a drive-in cinema, at the start of each hour.
The screenings start at 18:00, 19:00, 20:00, 21:00, 22:00 and 23:00 and last for 15 minutes.
The town's swimming pools are open to everyone on Saturday night, 7th February, and entry is free during the day's peak times.
Ásvallalaug – free from 3pm to 5pm
Water balls in the big pool
Bladderwrack on the bank
South Bay Pool – evening opening & free entry from 6 pm – 10 pm
7 pm – Music Bingo – bingo and music under one roof!
Hafnarborg – Sunday, 8th February
1:00 p.m. – Curator's Talk
Curators Aldís Arnardóttir and Þórdís Jóhannesdóttir guide visitors through Eggert Pétursson's current exhibitions., Red, and Unu Bjargar Magnúsdóttur, Filling. They both present new works that direct the viewer's attention to the small details and how everything is part of a larger whole, whether it be the earth's vegetation, fiction and non-fiction, material or space.
13:00-15:00 – Multilingual Editing Workshop
Hafnarborg is offering a multilingual collage workshop where participants will create their dream home and reflect on what matters, what we want in our homes, and what we dream of. The workshop will combine collage with drawing, where ideas of home will spring from the imagination. Animals, fantastical shapes and houses floating in space are very welcome. The workshop will be conducted in Czech, Icelandic, English and German, led by Marie Vesela and Anne Rombach.
Light art in the heart of Hafnarfjörður – Sunday, 8 February
On Sunday, 8th February, the Hafnarfjörður Church, Hásalir and the Hafnarfjörður Music School will be illuminated with beautiful colours. We encourage families to go for a pleasant drive and enjoy the splendour of colour between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
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