The most magical time of the year is here and Vamvakou is waiting for you!
People say “Let’s go to the city for Christmas”, but we say “Off to the village”! The paved alleys, the quivering flame in the fireplace, the sparkling lights, the firs covered with snow, cozy delicacies and smells, all bring to mind Christmas in the village. In the mountain village of Vamvakou in Lakonia, at an altitude of 950 meters, original activities and themed experiences will keep us company until the first days of 2023, presented by Vamvakou Revival within the framework of the Vamvakou Revival initiative with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).
Christmas in Vamvakou will be revealed with “Ena fos anammeno” [A light on] and Nikos Portokaloglou
This year, the magic of Christmas festivities will open in Vamvakou, Lakonia on December 3. A sparkling afternoon will be set up in the village with storytelling, the creation of festive notebooks, stilt walkers, fire show and bubble show. Join us with Christmas carols and songs, as we count down together to bring light to Christmas in Vamvakou! The festive afternoon will be completed with a big concert by Nikos Portokaloglou, along with Vicky Karatzoglou and Byron Tsourapis.
Christmas excursion to SNFCC
On December 1, we invite residents of Vamvakou and the wider area to a special excursion to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (SNFCC), where the Christmas lights will illuminate during a spectacular celebration.
V.Lab (Vamvakou Technology Lab Fully powered by SNF) Christmas Εdition
The second weekend of December, Christmas sneaks into V.Lab and the young tech enthusiasts will have the chance to create their own Christmas village with Lego WeDo 2.0 and they immerse themselves in the adventures of 3D printing.
Childrens’ Programs
Kids activities will begin with a creative, festive workshop about ornaments inspired by nature. A few days later, “we will sing Christmas carols” by making cards and ornaments, based on Nikiforos Lytras’ famous painting. And, as ‘play never ends’, we invite children to participate in an amusing two-hour session of fun and entertainment, where we will have the chance to sing and perform any game we come up with. As if this weren’t enough, we will be making snowman figurines together, and we will be making Christmas wreaths through an “ornamented” treasure hunt, to discover where Christmas and its various regional customs originate. The new year will find us again in Vamvakou, where children will be able to take part in a unique experience of an interactive journey and educational game, inspired by English writer Edith Nesbit’s classic childrens’ literary masterpiece, “The railway children”. Children will also discover the mischiefs of goblins through fairy tales and Christmas melodies, as well as discover the “three apples and a greeting card” through the story of the first Christmas card and the creation of their own greeting card.
Theatre and performances
We will farewell to 2022 with a children’s puppet show based by Kira-Rini’s fairy tale, “The Christmas of Elef and Anta”, which reveals the secrets of the recipe of the great-great-great-grandmother. And, then, we will welcome the new year with a special performance. The much talked-about theatre play “Miss Margarida’s Way” by the Brazilian playwright Roberto Athayde, directed by Dimitris Agoras and starring Flora Kalomiri as Miss Marguerite. The production will take place at the school of Vamvakou.
Music events at Voureiko
Music will be ongoing throughout the month. Every Saturday of December, the Voureiko restaurant-café is transformed into a live stage, taking us on a journey of melodies with Greek popular music, rebetiko and Greek artsy music. On Christmas Eve, Vasilis Prodromou and the music group “Grammes” will take us down music paths from the past to the present. we celebrate the New Year with popular and rebetiko music with Zaharias Karounis and the music group “Grammes”.
It’s Christmas once again and all roads lead to… Vamvakou!
#ChristmasinVamvakou #VamvakouRevival #SNForg
