The Philippon Festival proves its resilience and celebrates 50 years
The Philippon Festival in Kavala recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, attracting prominent townspeople from the northern port to celebrate at the Ianos bookstore in central Athens with a well-organized event – that could easily be the envy of similar initiatives – honoring this provincial, yet significant festival. Kavala Mayor Constantinos Simitzis spoke about the early years of the festival, which began in 1957 with a production of Euripides’ «Electra» starring Malena Anousaki and Costas Leivadas and performed at one of the country’s most ancient theaters. Now, 50 years on, art, music, dance and theater will grace the anniversary program, which will run from June 30 to September 5, with parallel events covering a five-month period. The inauguration will be marked by an exhibition of works by acclaimed Greek artist Costas Tsoclis. After that, there is plenty on the menu, including a tribute to Maria Callas, an Albanian production of «Medea,» «Lysistrata,» «Ecclesiazusae,» Racine’s «Andromache,» «Thesmophoriazusae,» «Iphigenia at Aulis» and much more. Many events will also be held at different venues around the municipality of Kavala (the fortress, beach etc), while Philippi will also host its fair share of the festival: an exhibition of photographs on past festivals, paintings, film screenings and an exhibition of posters, many of which have been created by leading artists and are very rare.
