If you thought festival season ends when August does, think again. Just as summer does not really end in Cyprus (not for a while anyway), neither does the festival agenda. Come September, and annual festivals return to every corner of the island.
Septemberfest: August 30 – September 5
Nicosia’s biggest beer festival returns with live performances every night. Opening the festival’s concerts is a performance by beloved Greek star Stelios Rokkos who will return to the Septemberfest stage at Akadimias Park once again on August 30 to kick start the live music performances. Another epic performance will be that of Panos Mouzourakis and Kostis Maraveyas on September 3. Of course, the festival will also feature a huge variety of beers (over 100 are to be expected) and a wide choice of street food.
Xarkis: September 13-15
True to its nomadic character, Xarkis Festival changes location and will this year take over Nicosia’s old town streets. The 11th edition will focus on Unearthing Care: Ecologies of Collaboration and will present a three-day programme of experiential workshops, exhibitions, participatory installations, interventions, live performances and concerts, interactive games and more. Following the Artist Multi-residency Programme on September 1-12, the festival will present a rich agenda for the public to enjoy exploring collaborative art work, Cypriotness, intangible cultural heritage and craft practices.
Flying Away Art and Music Festival: September 13-15
The premise remains the same for this annual festival – hundreds of pop-up art shops by local creatives, delicious food stands, cocktail bars and live music every night. Greek and Cypriot artists such as Magic de Spell, Mple, Evridiki, Pan Pan, Locomondo, Demetris Mesimeris and Freideriki Tombazou are among the musicians who will perform this year. The festival will leave behind Orfeas Stadium and relocate to the Famagusta Gate bastion.
Vegan Fam Festival: September 14-15
Happening for the fourth time at the Ancient Olive Tree Park in Psematismenos is an event all about plant-based healthy living. Addressed not just to vegans, the festival aims to showcase healthy products and new recipes and offer engaging talks and seminars. A parallel programme for children and live music performances will entertain visitors browsing the products market.
Beonix Festival 2024: September 20-22
The biggest electronic music festival will transform ETKO in Limassol into a massive festival ground. With a line-up that includes big names such as Fatboy Slim, ARTBAT and Tale of Us, the festival is expected to be a massive event for the local music and dance scene with about 25 more artists. Massive stages, impressive light shows with the latest technology and experience corners await.
Pame Kaimakli: September 20-22
Reviving the neighbourhoods of old Kaimakli is the Pame Kaimakli Festival organised by NGO Urban Gorillas. A series of site-specific and urban performances will take place throughout the weekend in the streets of old Kaimakli, welcoming locals, migrants, old and young. Expect participatory workshops, walks, public performances and installations that focus on community engagement and storytelling, touching on this year’s theme Re*Open.
Moonwalk 2024: September 20
Named the ‘longest street music festival of Cyprus’, Moonwalk is back, bringing hundreds of musicians performing simultaneously along the seafront and under the full moon. Several points across the promenade are transformed into mini stages welcoming talented musicians. Visitors are encouraged to walk under the August Rising Moon and listen to the bands and orchestras performing every 100 metres. All for free!
www.facebook.com/ProtarasMoonWalk
12th Sardam Festival: September 26-28
This international interdisciplinary literature festival will fill Limassol with literary experiences on the last weekend of September. Presenting three evenings of alternative literary readings, screenings and interdisciplinary performances, the festival brings together Cypriot and international writers, artists and audiences.
Limassol Wine Festival: September 28 – October 6
Returning for the 63rd year is one of Limassol’s proudest festivals. For a whole week, the Marios Tokas Municipal Garden Theatre will fill with local wine producers, artists, musicians from Cyprus and Greece and kiosks serving tastes of the island. A few years ago, the festival changed its dates and shifted its August date to further down the calendar in an effort to prolong the tourist season and enrich autumn’s agenda. This year, the Wine Festival will extend to Limassol’s wine villages as well with events happening on the first and last Sundays. Get ready to celebrate the end of the grape harvest and taste local delights such as palouze and shoushouko. The festival also includes photography exhibitions, activities for children, the Vrakas man on stilts and live shadow theatre performances.
www.limassol.org.cy/el/wine-festival
Ecstatic Dance Festival Cyprus: September 29-October 4
The Ecstatic Dance Festival Cyprus will again take place at Val’s Place in Gialia offering a week-long programme of dancing, workshops, music, movement and connection. Practitioners and DJs from all over the world will arrive to hold classes including yoga, voice circles, meditation, dance, breathwork and of course groovy ecstatic dance parties.
