Feeling Festive

A ghost town comes to life at the Saristra Festival.

On July 29 - 31, the Saristra Festival launches in Palia Vlachata, an area above the village of Sami in Kefalonia. Linking the present with the past, the festival pays tribute to the old village’s celebrations, and breathes artistic life into an otherwise abandoned area. Music, cinema, theatre and visual arts infuse every corner, from the ruins left by the earthquake of 1953 to the old cisterns, dirt alleyways and village square. Admission is free for all ages. Enjoy dancing, yoga, meditation, lectures and open seminars hosted by teachers, gurus and film industry personas. It is an eclectic gathering among rural surroundings of pomegranate and olive trees and goats lazing about in the fields beneath a blue sky. To learn more about what is in store for this year’s festival, visit their Facebook page: Saristra Festival. As a capstone to this unique, beautiful experience set in rustic nature at the foot of Agia Dynati mountain, pen your deepest wish and pin it to the ‘Tree of Wishes’. Sometimes, miracles do happen.