The Swamp Comes To Reykjavík

I went to the Shrek Rave and it was not a scam

“I think they’ve paid shit tons of money to promote that event on Facebook. A lot of my friends were getting Shrek Rave ads all the time. You know, like ‘Shrek Rave Coming To Your City!’ What the fuck? But then, apparently, it’s some kind of scam? It never happened. I’m not sure. There was something off about it.”

That’s what a DJ friend had to say when, one Saturday night, I brought up all the “Shrek Rave” ads I had been seeing on Facebook. You’d have to see the ads to fully understand the level of confusion they induced: an uncanny image of Shrek holding the Icelandic flag, looming large in a waterfall beneath the northern lights.

At the base of the image was a banner alerting potential ravers: “SOLD OUT FRIDAY, NEW DATE ADDED SATURDAY.”

Sold out? There’s no way. Who is going to this? It wasn’t helping that, as of yet, I hadn’t met a single acquaintance who had bought tickets to the Skrek Rave. I needed to find out if this was legit.

I found my way to Shrek Rave’s event planners “Like It, Love It” and filled out a quick contact request form, explaining that I was hoping to write a piece about the Shrek Raves slated to take over Gamla Bíó on November 15 and 16. Within a day, I already had a reply.

In Grapevine HQ, I was met with more still who had heard it could all be a scam. To really get to the bottom of this, I asked to meet with the organisers. Two days before the Shrek Rave’s alleged arrival in Reykjavík, I hopped on a call with Jen and Olivia of Like It, Love It, the events firm behind the rave. It didn’t boost my confidence that the two were a little late to the call — giving me just enough time to worry I really had fallen for what would surely be the strangest hoax. To be fair, I had already read accounts of other journalists’ experiences at their local Shrek Rave, and Gamla Bíó had already confirmed to me that there would indeed be happening.

“I just think that it’s such a great movie that hasn’t aged. I mean, everyone is still watching it,” Jen said when asked, bluntly, why Shrek? “And I think the beauty of this event is that it attracts all ages. There’s nothing really like this in the market that encourages people to dress up, not take life too seriously and just have fun.”

Confidence instilled and excitement piqued, I was ready to rave.

In the Kingdom of Far Away

Turning the corner onto Ingólfsstræti on the evening of the sold-out Friday Shrek Rave, I breathed a sigh of relief. As I walked up to Gamla Bíó, I was greeted by a spectacle (that, really, I should have expected by now): Prince Charming whizzing past on a Hopp, Fiona taking a smoke break, more green faces than not and, unfortunately, puke glistening on the venue’s front steps. Better out than in?

My companion and I were donning humble homemade ogre ears and Shrek-inspired outfits, with our faces just dabbed in green paint — we were hugely outdone.

Now inside and just eight minutes out from the start time, we grabbed a couple “Donkey” cocktails (it’s a Moscow Mule — get it) and enter Gamla Bíó’s main hall. There’s an inflatable Shrek on one side of the stage and an inflatable Gingerbread man on the other. I try to get a temperature check, pre-rave-commencing, and hear from one person “this feels like a high school dance. I’m feeling very awkward.” I agree and the nerves set in — is the demographic of Shrek-lovers maybe not intersecting well with the demographic of ravers? Is this going to be weird?

The countdown strikes zero and the defining phrase of the rave — “Shrek is love, Shrek is life” — bellows through the space in dramatic autotune, giving way to a remix of “All Star” by Smash Mouth.

The crowd is already going wild. These people are ready to party. From a green lightsaber to crocheted ogre ears, some people went all out. Some didn’t, but they’re partying all the same. I see three normally dressed guys force through the crowd to the front cheering right as the Fairy Godmother graces the stage.

“Are you ready to see the big man?”

After a short while, the DJ poses a highly anticipated question to the crowd: are we ready for Shrek? On to the stage come Shrek and Donkey, and they are fun and sassy. Donkey is…voguing to “Funkytown”?

“Reykjavík is fucking lit, I love it” exclaims Donkey, to the raucous cheers of the ravers.

There’s an onion eating contest, an American Idol parody (“Far Far Away Idol” – complete with someone wearing a printed out photo of Simon Cowell over their face), and some of the most graphic graphics I’ve seen in my life — it’ll suffice to say they enlarged some physical features of beloved Shrek characters, while relieving them of their clothes.

“I mean, I love watching Shrek, but it is a kids film,” says Molly, the creator of Shrek Rave, when asked about the graphics and the tone of the show. “Here, as the audience has grown up, Shrek, Fiona and Donkey have kind of grown up as well.” Molly has stepped in as Fiona tonight because the real Fiona’s flight was a victim of weather-induced cancellations.

“I think it’s like a very clever thing to do,” Marcus adds, “because it is now appealing to the Gen Z of the time now, and these are the people who you have to aim stuff at, because they’re bringing shit forward.”

And you know what? Their shot was well aimed. As I left the Shrek Rave in the wee hours, with a greenish face and a full heart, I spoke loudly (admittedly, with a tone of surprise) about how much fun I had at Shrek Rave. I’m a believer.