What’s on this weekend

Another long weekend is approaching! Many will hit the road for a three-day escape yet for those staying put the island’s cultural agenda will provide plenty of entertainment. Parades, exhibitions, poetry nights and even fruit festivals are on the horizon.

The fun begins as early as Thursday this week celebrating World Poetry Day. KENO Publications and Backstage Gastrobar in Nicosia will host a poetry and open mic night to mark the occasion. A poetry reading will kick things off followed by open mic performances where the public is invited to get up on stage and perform a song, a poem, music or something they wish to share. The poetry reading will be hosted by Maria Kouvarou, while The Openest Mic – as the second part of the event is called – will be hosted by Michael-Angelos Englezos.

Those who wish to participate in the event are to register via email at [email protected] or via Instagram message @void_keno providing details of the number of pieces they intend to present as well as presentation duration and language.

Also happening on Thursday in Nicosia is the opening of the Belonging exhibition at Goethe-Institut which is part of the Assemble programme. The exhibition will feature artworks and a day of dialogue focusing on the rights of artists whose practice has been disrupted by forced migration and the role of culture in supporting refugees. Curated by Shirin Zeraaty, the exhibition will showcase the works of Myriam Dalal, Alia Gargum, Oleksandra Lytvyn, Amak Mahmoodian, Zariq Rosita-Hanif and Efi Savvides.

On Friday, between 10am and 5pm, an event for dialogue will discuss topics from the professional development of artists, ethics and care to the role of culture in supporting people with lived experience of forced displacement. The day’s programme will include a session with guest speakers on the role of culture within refugee support NGOs and an afternoon session on supporting visual artists and cultural professionals impacted by exile and displacement. On Saturday, the curator will guide an exhibition tour from 11am to 12.30pm in conversation with participating artists.

Over at The Common Room, the venue next to Kafeneio Prozak, an event will celebrate all things zine. Azines Library hosts the Azines Mingle event on Saturday afternoon featuring a zine exhibition and zine workshop, talks and a zine fair as well as live music with DJ Annie Damianou on the decks. The event will run from 4.30pm to 11.30pm with the DJ set starting at 7pm.

For those seeking to escape the city and head to the villages, Dierona village will host the 4^th Mandarin Festival this Saturday and Sunday. Held in the village square and with free entry, the festival will begin at 11am and boasts a programme of traditional song and dance. The opening ceremony will feature folk singer Stefanos Pelekanis while later the Etous Pale group will present tsiattista. Throughout the two days, stalls will sell various mandarin produce and local items such as mandarin sweets and mandarin zivania. Handmade traditional art will also be showcased as well as a photography exhibition of previous festival editions. Here’s to another long weekend, the second of three in a row!

World Poetry Day

Poetry reading and open mic. March 21. Backstage Gastrobar, Nicosia. 7.30pm

Belonging

Exhibition part of the ASSEMBLE programme with parallel events. March 22-24. Goethe-Institut, Nicosia. Opening night: 6pm-9pm. Facebook event: Assemble – Belonging Exhibition

Azines Mingle

Zine exhibition, workshops, talks, fair and DJ set. March 23. Common Room, Prozak, Nicosia. 4.30pm-11.30pm

4^th Mandarin Festival

Mandarin stalls, local produce and live performances. March 23-24. Cultural centre, village square Dierona village. 11am. Free. Tel: 99-409938, 96-335871