Press Release – 10 years “Routes in Marpissa”
10 years “Routes in Marpissa”
A three-day celebration in the center of the Aegean Sea
10 years / Thousands of smiles
We celebrated the ten years of the festival Routes in Marpissa in August 23, 24 and 25, with beloved artists and many visitors in a festive three-day celebration and in an atmosphere of excitement and joy. Like every year, Marpissa was ready to open the houses and yards and welcome hundreds of people from all over Greece and abroad, who came to walk and celebrate with us.
Our motto since 2010, “Come _ And walk_With us_In Marpissa” was the basis for the four points of interest and thematic stations that welcomed visitors to our festive table with homemade treats and liqueurs, leading them to the traditional features of the architectural route, and inviting them to get to know our team of volunteers and discover local customs on celebration. At the same time, they had the opportunity to play the game “Ten Years Routes”, which was evolving at key points of the settlement and was based on the different themes of the festival’s ten years and on archival material created over the years.
The rich three-day program started on Friday 23.08 with the workshop “I just turned 10!” for primary school children, with the writer and environmental education officer WWF Greece, Eleni Svoronou. At the same time, the workshop “Photographing the celebration” for adolescents, with the photographer – photography instructor, Athanasia Panagea was in progress, and shortly thereafter Dr. Archontoula Vassilara, a NTUA architect, led visitors to an observational walk to Marpissa’s unique physiognomy. The festival’s first day ended with three separate events, the performance of contemporary dance (“Re) Related” by the dancers Anastasia Valsamaki, Dimitrios Mytilineos, Nepheli Kadinopoulou – Asteriou with choreography by Anna Anoussaki, the concert of gypsy swing by Gadjo Dilo and the late-night narration for adults by Lily Lambrelli.
The second day, Saturday 24.08, started early in the morning, with hiking to the cave of St. Georgios – St. Nicolaos, where Yiorgos Anoussakis introduced 140 visitors to the unseen world of the caves in Paros. In the evening, the activities continued with the creative workshop “Im-prints of a celebration” for primary school children, by MUMS – Graphic Design Studio, while the instructor of traditional Greek dance, Dr. Vasilis Karfis uplifted us in a traditional dance workshop for adolescents and adults.
Later, the reading of “Things that bones owe to rocks” by Thomas Tsalapatis, followed as part of the group exhibition of contemporary art “Summer is the opposite of history” and screenings of short films by the award-winning International program AnimaSyros Animation Festival, where spectators of all ages filled Christos Square. It is worth noting that the first short film was created by the students of the Archilochus – Marpissa Primary School in April 2019, under the guidance of the Italian animator Thomas Künstler.
The second day ended with a special, festive concert with the participation of Vangelis Karipis, Petros Klampanis, George Kontoyiannis, Stavros Lantsias, Spyros Manessis, Martha Mavroidi, Spyridoula Baka, Alexandros Botinis, George Xylouris (Psaroyiorgis) and Sokratis Sinopoulos. The 10 musicians, who have honored the festival with their participation over the past years, collaborated on a unique project that was specially prepared for the 10th festival and co-staged it for the first time at a concert that excited the audience.
The last day, Sunday 25.08, started with the “Spinning Tops’ Championship”, and was preceded by a workshop on the construction of traditional wooden spinning tops by wood-turner and musician Fanouris Petopoulos. At the same time, a workshop for children inspired by the world of Cycladic figurines was held. Later, a musical route with musicians from Paros and Antiparos led visitors through the alleys of Marpissa to the central square of the village where the traditional feast was held with Nikos Economides, Kyriaki Spanou, Panayiotis Vergos, Yiorgos Gavras, Nikos Tsantanis and Babis Markoulis.
During the three days of the festival, the visitors had the opportunity to visit the group exhibition of contemporary art curated by Despina Zefkili, entitled “Summer is the opposite of history”, with artists Natalie Yiaxi, Anthie Daoutaki, Yiannis Papadopoulos and Thomas Tsalapatis.
The visitors also observed the photo exhibition on “Routes in Marpissa” prepared by Athanasia Panagea and visited the residences of Aspropoulou and Anoussaki family and the windmill of Agouros family, which welcomed people especially for the festival.
We warmly thank the residents of Marpissa, the professionals who supported the festival and all of you, who once again walked and celebrated with us in Marpissa!
The festival was organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Sport, in co-operation with the South Aegean Region and the Municipality of Paros, with the support of KDEPAP and the donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.