As the Christmas season is approaching, lots of interesting events seem to be happening in the capital. One of these is Nicosia Pop Up Festival 2021, which, as the name suggests, provides space for selected pop-up shops. Overall, the festival aims to promote the work of young artists, designers, craftsmen, and entrepreneurs who wish to present their ideas to the public and test their products in real market conditions.
This year’s festival focus is innovation and creativity in relation to products, services, and practices in the fields of entrepreneurship, entertainment, culture, and education. What is also exciting about this event is that Makariou Avenue is finally ready to welcome the festive Christmas decorations and lights to get us all into the Holiday spirit. The abandoned and vacant shops in the City Plaza will also temporarily come back to life, from the 10th of December to the 31st of December, as the participants will be using this space for the duration of the event. Moreover, the appearance of these shops will be accompanied by parallel events, happenings, and activities, such as, performances and workshops, that will take place at Theatro Polis-OPAP. With regard to these, be prepared to be actively involved as the public will be asked to join in and offer their own input to certain happenings!
Every little detail is meticulously covered by the organizers who have arranged the services of licensed food vendors that specialize in street food to match the vibrant and energetic atmosphere of the festival. Nicosia Tourism Board (NTB) proudly sponsors the Festival, supporting in this way our city’s culture and education in a truly interesting and inspiring manner.
As already mentioned, several parallel events will be taking place at Theatro Polis-ΟPAP, where people can spend their time quite differently than usual, as each activity is a truly unique experience!
The 30-minute performance “Mouzourou” is one of the first performances of the festival, and it will take place on the 9th of December, at 21:00.
The following day, on the 10th of December, a workshop for Greek speaking adults has been organized, titled “The Art of Failure: Juggling and Clowning”, for those whose are interested in Circus Arts. The workshop, coordinated by Annie Sophocleous and Natalie Panayiotou, starts at 16:00 and lasts 2.5 hours. You’ll be expected to try a number of physical and mental tasks where failure is not perceived negatively but as a challenge to overcome.
After the end of the workshop, at 20:00, you can enjoy the 45-minute performance “The New Reality Show”, by Yiasemin Collective, performed by the coordinators themselves.
On the 11th and 12th of December, at 10:00 in the morning and again at 16:00 in the afternoon, on both days, the interactive musical narrative performance “In Two Paper Shoes” will take place, narrated by Marina Katsari while Giannis Koutis will be playing live music.
Then, on the 13th of December, there is another workshop designed for adults, called “Here and Now”, orchestrated by the same facilitators as “The Art of Failure: Juggling and Clowning”. The workshop, which is intended for Greek speaking participants, starts at 17:30 and finishes at 20:00.
In the following days, on the 14th and 15th of December, at 20:30, you have the chance to attend a thought-provoking monologue by Petros Patounas, “Theoskotina”, performed by Pantelitsa Mavrogianni and directed by Marina Kakoulli. The monologue is very powerful indeed and manages to provide insights on child abuse, on a sexual and a social level.
Equally powerful, but presented in a “lighter” way, is the 45-minute one-woman show “Nat in da House”, organized by Yasemin Collective, that follows on December 16 and December 17, at 20:00, through which the performer Natalie Panagiotou invites people on a journey to enter and get to know her world.
A very interesting 50-minutes play will take place on the 18th and 19th of December, at 20:00, titled “Wild Stories”, which is intended for Greek speakers.
In just twenty minutes, the performer Nayia T. Karacosta, talks about female bodies and the narrative they convey in a groundbreaking performance, “Hymen”. The performance takes place on the 20th of December, at 20:00, and forms the artistic expression of the narration of various interviewees/participants of various experiential workshops, part of the residency programme “Moving the New”, mentored by Rodia Vomvolou alongside Eleni Anastasiou.
The last two events of the festival are the 20-minute performance “Metazonta”, which takes place on the 21th of December, at 18:00 and 20:00, and, on the 22nd and 23rd of December, at 20:30, the 50-minute performance “All the Wrong Men”, which is in the Cypriot dialect, written and performed by Irene Salata.
The initiative taken by Nicosia Municipality and NiMAC to organize Nicosia Pop Up Festival is certainly appreciated, and we can’t wait to see the revitalization of the capital’s commercial centre while attending the diverse cultural events and happenings that will run parallel to the pop-up shops.
