It’s Tsiknopempti today, and despite the freezing cold that’s sweeping across the country, tradition demands fun, revelry, and good food.

As every year, this year too, the Municipality of Athens has prepared a special carnival program with events and activities spread throughout the city, catering to both young and old.

Today’s Tsiknopempti celebration starts at 11 in the morning from Syntagma, with a ceremonial procession by the Cultural Society of Dance Arts “Bacchae,” which will pass through Ermou, Aiolou, Kotzia Square, Varvakios Market, and Monastiraki Square, with a reenactment of the Naxian “Kordelaton” tradition taking place in Kotzia Square.

The center of the events will once again be the Varvakios Market. At 11:30 AM, the Athens Municipal Philharmonic Orchestra will perform, and at 12:00 PM, there will be a concert by the Workshop of Greek Music of the Municipality of Athens, featuring singers Dora Loizou and Vasilis Skoulas.

In the afternoon, the activities will move to Kotzia Square. At 19:00, a traditional music concert will take place with the musical group KωΓιaMan – Kostas Tsarouchis (Oud), Giannis Rizopoulos (Percussion), Manolis Christodoulou (Cannonaki), and at 20:30, the musical group Gintiki will take over, with Tasos Kofodimos (Lute, vocals), Konstantinos Lazos (Clarinet, bagpipes, guitar, voice), Kostantis Papakonstantinou (Percussion), and Thodoris Sioutis (Violin, vocals).

Additionally, you can visit, completely for free, from 11:00 to 16:00, the exhibition of collective narrative embroidery at the “Angeliki Hatzimichali” Museum of Folk Art and Tradition (Ang. Hatzimichali 6, Plaka). Sixteen women from Larissa create embroidery that captures the preparation for a traditional Greek wedding, enriched with rituals meant to ward off evil. The images comment on social issues with humor, satire, anger, or nostalgia. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Historical Folklore Museum of Larissa “Giorgos and Lena Gourgioti.”

Finally, at the Benaki Museum on Piraeus Street, from 20:00, there will be a masquerade party with live music from Banda Calda and music selections by DJ Liana Mastathi. You can book your tickets online HERE.