Relocating to town for the first time this year, the Accordion Festival returns renewed this summer. Held between June 5 and 7, the festival’s concerts, workshops, exhibitions and actions will extend throughout the old neighbourhood of Aglandjia in Nicosia.

Apart from live music concerts on all three evenings, the festival also includes seminars where experts and enthusiasts come together to share knowledge through hands-on workshops. This year, these include the accordion workshop Feel It. Play It. Show It. with Nikos Pantechis; an introductory workshop to the Bayan Accordion with the same artist; and a masterclass with Italian accordionist Raffaelle Conti. On Sunday, the Improvisation as a Means of Expression in Mediterranean and Balkan Traditions – Solo or Taksim? masterclass will take place as well by Thanos Stavrides.

Other workshops include the Live Creation of Balkan Sound with the band from Greece Drom, and The Inner World of the Accordion workshop with Mehmet Yiğiter and Pantechis

An accordion exhibition and technical support will be set up and presented by Yiğiter at the Olive Mango Art Studio while the art exhibition Eco Art and Music will display pieces made from recycled materials by students of Aglandjia schools and art studios. A Collectible Bicycle exhibition will also enrich the old square this year, from which children and adults can borrow bikes to move around the festival area.

Workshops for children using recycled materials and sessions to make DIY musical instruments will also take place. Other activities include a ceramics workshop, a storytelling and music workshop and a create-a-song workshop.

Want more? The OPU organisation will hold a cycling and walking event in the area while musician Cleopatra Charalambous will invite visitors aged 11 and older to an experiential session titled Music as a Tool Against Stress.

As for the concerts, the programme currently includes performance by Italian accordionist Mirco Patarini, the Eutopia Duo featuring Yiannis Michael (DJ Krox), Thanos Stavrides and Drom, Antonis Antoniou (DJ Koulla), a children’s choir and the five-member female group ANeraides. More performers might be added to the list as the programme continues to change.

“The festival is not just about music,” comment organisers, “it’s also a place to learn, share ideas and celebrate culture, helping music grow in Cyprus and connecting people from around the world.”

8th Cyprus International Accordion Festival

Three days of concerts, workshops, exhibitions and activities for all. June 5-7. Aglandjia, Nicosia. www.cyprusaccordionfestival.com