The annual Heystfagnaður (Fall Festival), held over the weekend at Eiði, saw its largest turnout ever this time around, organizers said. Taking place in the northernmost village of Eysturoy to celebrate agriculture-related traditions, the festival, in its own special way, highlights Faroese rural culture and traditions and, not least, the charms of the fall season. Festivities include concerts, farmers’ markets, exhibitions, contests, and more.
The Heystfagnaður features a wide range of activities spanning several days; however, most of the major events take place on the Saturday. Somewhat like Tórshavn’s Ólavsøka—of course not really, though, but still—the festival’s main area fills with crowds enjoying a wide variety of hospitality and events.
For many, though, the official start of the festival is the pub quiz that traditionally takes place on Friday at 8 pm, setting the mood for the weekend and testing the knowledge of hundreds of contestants, organized into teams of around 8–10 people. There is a buzz in the air at the Hólmahúsið venue as the teams mutter and whisper replies and jokes amongst themselves, each hoping to win a round of refreshments from the bar.
As for this Saturday—as usual for the Heystfagnaður—the weather would be a major source of potential concern. For several days ahead of the festival, people will discuss the outlook and express their hopes of good weather, at least for Saturday—after all, attendees will spend hours on end outdoors during that day, mostly around the main area of the festival. And luckily, this time around, the weather was exceptionally good for this time of year and no doubt played a key part in helping to turn this year’s iteration of the festival into a record-breaking one in terms of attendance, according to organizers.
Adjacent to the main area of the festival, the ‘flettikapping’, a contest in traditional sheep-slaughtering contest, arguably drew the biggest audience again this time around. The contestants are judged not only on speed but also on cleanliness and overall quality of their work. The carcasses of the sheep are then sold at auction later in the evening, often fetching thousands of kroner each.
Quite a large crowd gathered in the excellent weather to watch the contestants at work and to take in some of the other competitions, such as finding the largest potato in the Faroes, or see who would prevail in holding a five-kilogram bag of potatoes with hands outstretched. Overall, the mood was friendly and jovial.
The festival also caters to the many among the Faroese who enjoy the musical side of life, with concerts aimed at children and adults alike, all of of charge. The organizers aim to book acts of various genres that capture the spirit of the festival whilst appealing to differing tastes.
Easily recognizable in their traditional Faroese jumpers and hats, the organizers would pace the area to making sure everything was in order and going according to plan. These well-clad ladies and gentlemen told us that this year’s edition of the Heystfagnaður broke all earlier records in terms of food sold. The soup stand, for instance, had already sold out by 4 pm—something that has rarely, if ever, happened before. This was taken as a good indicator of the large number of people in attendance, meaning that, most likely, more people than ever before showed up.
As afternoon turns to evening and evening turns to night, the final big event of Heystfagnaður, as usual, was the dance, beginning at midnight. With revelers wanting one final big hurrah, they would dance the night away; and with that, Saturday night would turn into Sunday morning as the event drew to a close and the organizers slowly began preparing for next year.
