Alternative events to mark Limassol carnival

By this time of the year, with just under a month until the big annual Limassol carnival, preparations are typically in full swing. Marching groups are set with their costumes, music bands are doing their final rehearsals, the municipality is busy organising events, parties and exhibitions leading up to the big Sunday parade. This year, there will be none of that as the Limassol Municipality announced months ago that the big carnival celebrations will not take place this March.

But the Limassol Municipality has been planning alternative carnival celebrations. Exhibitions and live performances are scheduled in Limassol throughout March to continue the carnival tradition.

“This year, amid the pandemic,” the municipality said, “the Limassol Carnival will have a different character, but it will have the same goal as every year. To offer the world joy, fun and optimism for a better tomorrow. In ways compatible with epidemiological data, the Municipality of Limassol proves that even in difficult times, traditions are not abandoned, but are kept alive and addressed to the whole world, regardless of age and social origin.”

On March 4, three different exhibitions will take place. One at the Town Hall, a photography showcase and a caricature exhibition at the Panos Solomonides Cultural Centre. The following day, an event titled ‘Irtan I Sikoses’ will be live-streamed from the Pattihio Municipal Theatre for spectators to tune in and watch online.

Next on the agenda is a popular and beloved event for carnival enthusiasts. A crazy mask competition will take place on March 9 with DJ MadMax live online, awarding the craziest, funkiest and most clever masks and costumes. Another performance will take place at the Pattihio Theatre on March 12, also live-streamed online, this one called As If It Were Yesterday. Then, on March 13 it’s time for music. An evening dedicated to the tradition of the Cantadores where typically male music ensembles perform songs.

The organised events may all be broadcast online yet some things will also take place in the city. During the carnival weeks, a painting competition will take place at elementary schools inviting children to use art as an expression. The parade floats which usually steal the show every year, dressed with all sorts of social and political connotations, will still make an appearance this year. The Limassol Municipality along with Studio 8 is putting together two events for the parade float creators which will be broadcast by the CyBC. The 2021 carnival may not be what we are used to, nor happening in full extravaganza yet Limassol Municipality is making sure that spirits and traditions are kept high and alive!

For more information contact the Municipality on https://www.limassolmunicipal.com.cy/ or 7777-7788