Press Release “Routes in Marpissa” Festival – In Between – 25, 26, 27 August 2023

In a traditional walk with tsambouna and tumbaki music and an authentic Cycladic feast with Nikos Economides and Kyriaki Spanou, which lasted until early in the morning, the 13th festival “Routes in Marpissa” was completed on Sunday, August 27, saying goodbye to the last weekend of summer.

As every year, the “protagonist” was Marpissa, even more so this year when the thematic axis of the festival revolved around the in-between points, some public and some private, but all shared, friendly and ready to welcome us as places of communication and social interaction. Experiential activities and games for all, events and concerts, took place in small and large squares, terraces, church forecourts and other favorite landmarks of the Cycladic settlement, highlighting a cultural route rich in stimuli, joy and emotions.

Thus, the courtyard of Agrotoleschi hosted this year for the first time a modular music workshop with over 40 children aged 6 to 15, who, under the guidance of Jeben Klapakis, proved that even if one has no musical knowledge, one can become a member of an orchestra, since “One Note Played by Each One, Become Many Together”. With violins provided by the organization, the young musicians, after rehearsing for the first two days, presented the new string orchestra of Marpissa in front of an audience on Sunday evening in Papa-Yiorghi Stamena Square(central square of the village), receiving deservedly the warmest applause.

On the first day (Friday, August 25) in the courtyard of the Municipal Community Building, an extremely interesting discussion was held on the occasion of the theme of this year’s festival, coordinated by Dr. Archontoula Vasilara, Architect Urban Architect, School of Architecture NTUA and with the participation of distinguished speakers, among including, Irini Gratsia, Archaeologist and Coordinator of Monumenta, Iosif Stefanou, Emeritus Professor of NTUA and Theano S. Terkenli, Professor at the Department of Geography of the University of the Aegean.

In the same place, on the evening of Saturday August 26, Christina Maxouri,

Vassilis Korakakis, Agis Papapanagiotou, Vassilis Prodromou and Dimitris Koustas captivated the audience with “Sotiria’sSongs ” that softly sang along with them in an overwhelming atmosphere and an evening that no one wanted to end…

In one of the most characteristic and beloved squares of the traditional settlement, “Christos” Square, we welcomed the public this year with three different events: The participatory performance entitled “It was no accident that Marpissa preferred Ida over Apollo… Marpissa and other stories”, curated by VASKOS (Vassilis Noulas& Kostas Tzimoulis), the animation screenings of for adults in collaboration with the Animasyros International Animation Festival (Saturday, August 26) and the atmospheric concert with the Mihalis Kalkanis Group (Friday, August 25) that captivated the public on jazz paths, with melodic “surprises” and influences from classical to traditional as well as electronic music.

“Pefko” square, a place where the village’s feasts were traditionally held in the past, became for a while the stage where “Jovan” unfolded his talents, a puppet show by the Bufos Group, which really delighted everyone (Saturday, August 26).

Friends of contemporary art wandered around the village this year guided by the exhibition entitled “The stones are burning in July, my eyes are burning too”* with lime, bleach and gossip” curated by Despina Zefkili, discovering places such as the old summer cinema of the village.

In the squares of Saint George and Prophet Elias, thematic stations were created, inviting the public to take a journey into the past of Marpissa and also to reflect on the relationship between man and the public space, through experiential actions and games. Accordingly, the younger friends of the festival walked the traditional settlement from one end to the other on the occasion of the children’s activity the “New Municipal Council”, under the guidance of the drama therapist Elena Passou.

In addition, passing through the “heart” of the settlement, Evangelismos square, visitors had the opportunity to explore the inventive, collective artistic project “Vegghera”, by visual artists Myrsini Artakianou and Theodora Kanelli.

Finally, those who love to wake up in the morning followed us in the morning walk “Tracing Stories about Trees in a Treeless (?) Island Landscape” with Kalliopi Stara, Cultural Ecology researcher, and forester Rigas Tsiakiris, on a walk in one of the most iconic points of the region, Saint Antonios.

We are truly grateful to the supporters, sponsors, residents and visitors, who embraced this year’s festival with particular warmth.

On behalf of the organizing team and all the volunteers, thank you for walking with us in Marpissa for one more year.