On Saturday 30 November at 15:00, you are invited to the long-established Christmassy celebration in the heart of Mount Parnon and the Vamvakou Square to welcome the most shiny, magical, fragrant, and nostalgic period of the year, Christmas! Vamvakou Revival organizes every year a fascinating festive winter evening in the village; an evening full of events and happenings open to all and a great concert, on the occasion of the Christmas tree lighting and unveiling of the village’s festive decorations, realized as part of the Vamvakou Revival initiative thanks to an exclusive grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).
“Alien climbers” and imaginary creatures will guide you through customs, traditions, and interactive games. Street musicians will take you on a journey to festive rock, pop, jazz, and swing melodies, while a “magical suitcase” full of colors, paperboards, glitter, and balloons will be waiting for you to explore. With face painting, we will all transform into Christmas elves and fairies; we will become a big company and capture our shared moments in a magical video booth spinning around us. The adventures of the Nutcracker will come to life by the TOPI theater company, and just before the countdown, the velvety voices of the Sparta Music School students will fill the air with songs; thousands of lights will be lit to warm our hearts; and all our wishes will take us “Ektos Topou kai Chronou” [out of space and time] featuring Alkinoos Ioannidis and his band embarking on a journey “to an ever-changing world”.
Detailed schedule:
11:00-16:00 Vamvakou Santa School & Ice rink | Entry based on priority | School
* Due to difficult weather conditions, for safety reasons, the operation of the Ice Rink and outdoor games (trampoline, inflatable games) on Saturday, November 30th, is postponed. We continue indoors at the school with crafts, balloon creations, face painting, and Santa Claus!
15:00–16:00 Alien climbers on the crest of the stars | Interactive happening, games | Performers: Afroditi Vervenioti & Flora Kalomiri | School-Square
15:00-16:00 Christmas street music | Christmas melodies in rock, pop, jazz & swing arrangements | On/Off (Giorgos Koliopoulos: guitar-vocals, Jenny Darioti: vocals), Grigoris Tsagouris (saxophone), Tasos Skiadas (guitar-vocals) and Giorgos Kostianis (piano) | Cobbled alleys
11:00-18:00 Magical Suitcase | Face painting, original balloon and Christmas creations using recycled materials | School & Square
15:00-20:00 Video booths | 360 slow-motion video | Capture the moment; keep the memory. Don’t forget to share your videos using hashtag #christmasinvamvakou @vamvakourevival | Square
16:00-17:15 The Nutcracker | Theater company TOPI | Theater performance | Traditional Guesthouse of Vamvakou
17:30-18:00 Sparta Music School | Concert – Choir | Square
18:00-18:15 Vamvakou Christmas lights switch-on by Vamvakou Revival | Greeting and Christmas decorations unveiling | Square
18:15 – 20:15 Alkinoos Ioannidis LIVE in Vamvakou | Music | Accompanied by Stavros Lantsias (keys), Miltiadis Papastamou (electric violin), Giotis Kiourtsoglou (electric bass), Michael Kapilidis (drums) | Square
Bus Transfer: Τhe Municipality of Sparta has leased a 50-seat bus that will operate a route Sparta-Vamvakou and vice versa on 30/11 to serve the public. Seats are limited. Please reserve your seat in advance at 2731-0-76233.
Departure time from Sparta: 15:00
The bus will return to Sparta once the event will come to an end.
Meeting Point: Museum
We sincerely thank the Municipality of Sparta for supporting our event and cooperation!
