Summer Nostos Festival | Athens | June 23 & 24
A lively weekend awaits at the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center as the Summer Nostos Festival continues with lots more free stuff for kids, teens and adults alike. On Saturday from 7.30 p.m. eight bands comprising girls aged 8-12 – participants in the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls – will be performing rock covers. That will be followed at 10.15 p.m. by Baltimore-based psychedelic pop act Animal Collective with their blend of noise rock, ambient drone and experimental pop sounds. On Sunday, Grammy-winning Evelyn Glennie will be performing her percussion compositions, starting at 7.30 p.m. Glennie is the world’s first deaf composer to receive international recognition, and is known from her BAFTA-nominated documentary “Touch the Sound,” and collaborations with prominent artists such as Bjork. Later, South African Bongeziwe Mabandla, known for his unique take on afro-folk sound, will take the stage at 8.30 p.m., and at 10.15 p.m. popular Greek pop singer Anna Vissi will sing a career-spanning set. There’s also plenty on the program for kids and families, including lessons in the classic lawn game of petanque (for ages 6 and up) on Saturday, circus performers teaching all sorts of skills – from juggling to wire walking – to people of all ages starting at 7 p.m., kayaking in the canal from 6-8 p.m., and climbing a tower with trained guidance from 6.30 to 10.30 p.m. Admission to all events is free of charge and a free shuttle-bus service runs between the SNFCC and Syntagma Square (top of Ermou Street) via the Syngrou-Fix metro station. For more, visit www.snfcc.org.
