The town hosts varied and widely popular events, in the realms of both culture and outdoor recreation. These events include, but are not limited to:
The Ski Week Festival
"Aldrei fór ég suður" music festival
Fossavatn Ski Marathon
Við Djúpið music festival
European Swampsoccer Championships
Act Alone - a theater festival dedicated to the art of acting alone, mono drama, held in August every year
Annual music festivals
Aldrei fór ég suður – Ísafjörður Rock Festival
In 2002 Ísafjörður's own Mugison (a.k.a. Örn Elías Guðmundsson) and his father organized the first 'Aldrei fór ég suður' Music Festival as a free concert to support the burgeoning music community in Ísafjörður. The event has been established as an annual festival in mid April. The name Aldrei fór ég suður (I never went south) is taken from a Bubbi Morthens song of the same name, and may refer to a movement among young Icelanders to establish cultural events outside Reykjavík, and draw attention back to the nation's roots in the countryside. The festival's subtitle is "rokkhátið alþýðunnar" or "rock festival for the people".
Við Djúpið Music Festival
Since 2001 the Við Djúpið Music Festival has offered master classes and concerts with nationwide and worldwide known artists, such as Erling Blöndal Bengtsson, cellist and Vovka Ashkenazy, pianist as well as the Pacifica Quartet, Evan Ziporyn, clarinetist, composer and a member of the band Bang on a Can gave a master class and concert in Ísafjörður during Við Djúpið 2007 and among performers at the 2008 festival where Pekka Kuusisto, violinist with Simon Crawford-Phillips, pianist and Håkon Austbø, pianist
