This Saturday is set to be a great day for Festivals. While Tala – near Paphos – is ready to once again welcome all to the Kamares Festival, Nicosia and the Romanian Society in Cyprus invite everyone to experience Romanian culture.
The Kamares Festival has become something of a tradition at the Kamares Club in Tala with its 40 stalls selling hand-made and imported arts and crafts.
This year the festival will kick-off at 10am and last all the way until 4pm with lots of fun and entertainment for the whole family. There will be festival music played by DJ Boycie, a saxophone performance by Colin Wright and also an ABBA tribute later on in the day. The Young Stars Theatre School will also put on a little performance.
When it comes to getting fit, the festival also has it covered with a fitness demonstration and a bit of Zumba to give a bit of exercise.
Refreshments will be available throughout the day, and entry is free.
While the Paphos crowd will be enjoying a very festive day, Nicosia will also be getting in on the fun.
The Casteliotissa Hall will be transformed into a room filled with the sights, sounds and textures of Romanian culture.
The festival, under the name The Traditional Romanian Embroidered Blouse IE, will begin with a presentation by representatives from the Ethnographic Bucovina Museum and the National Tourism Agency of Romania.
The presentation, The Art and Symbolism of the Embroidery Motifs on the Romanian la, will concentrate on traditional Romania blouses and costumes – which will also be on show – and how these garments have inspired artists and modern designers.
You will hear about when Theofor Pallady, a Romanian painter, gave Henry Matisse a collection of traditional Romanian blouses as a gift in 1939, and how these inspired the French artist to create a series of paintings currently on show in Paris, at the National Museum of Modern Art. Forty years later these paintings inspire the famous fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent to dress his models for the autumn winter collection.
These traditional blouses became the inspiration for clothing with their characteristic large sleeves, open neck and stitched motifs. These motifs, which are often trees, have become well-known symbols associated with these kind of blouses.
The hall will also exhibit paintings by the Children’s Choir of the Romanian School in Nicosia, and also host the Children’s Choir of the Romanian School in Nicosia and Romanian folk dance performances by the folklore group Floricica from Paralimni.
The culture and tradition of any country also has a lot to do with food, and Romania is well known for its traditional sweets. So get ready to taste some cozonac, poale-n brau and much more.
Kamares Festival
A festival with arts and crafts, charity fair games, and entertainment. May 28. Kamares Club, Tala, Paphos. 10am-4pm. Tel: 99-387311
The Traditional Romanian Embroidered Blouse IE
A festival by the Romanian Society in Cyprus. May 28. Casteliotissa Hall, Nicosia. 6.30pm. Tel: 22-495535
