Local festivals of agricultural products – Autumn smells and tastes

During the harvest of agricultural products, the people of the countryside used to celebrate the good harvest that they had obtained with hard work and effort. Today, in many parts of Greece, such customs are revived with a variety of events accompanying them.

In autumn, chestnuts and tsipouro are the order of the day.

From the dense forests of the mountainous areas of the Peloponnese and Western Greece, full of chestnut trees, their delicious fruit is collected and offered to visitors along with plenty of wine and various traditional dishes. In other regions, the harvest of grapes is combined with their distillation for the production of tsipouro, while in Aegina, they celebrate the harvest of the unique and delicious pistachio.

On 27 October the 36th Chestnut Festival in Kastanitsa, Arcadia

A beautiful preserved settlement in the Peloponnese, in Kastanitsa, high on the beautiful Parnonas, has been hosting the Chestnut Festival since 1983.

It is one of the longest running in the country as it has been held for 35 years without interruption by the Cultural and Naturalist Association of the Castanitsians and has established itself as one of the most important in Greece with a large number of people and a special tourist interest.

This year’s celebration will take place on October 27, instead of the originally announced weekend of 26-27, at the square of Sotiriou Kouroounis in the location “Mana”, which is located 200m. from the southern entrance of the village.

There you will taste foods and sweets with chestnut as the basic ingredient, and other local traditional foods, such as goat stew, married bean soup and handmade pies accompanied by traditional music and dance, surrounded by beautiful chestnut trees.

Presentations related to chestnuts, games for children and theatrical dialogues in the Tsakonian dialect will accompany the celebration.

Visit the exhibition of Traditional Crafts, take a tour of the renewed Information Centre of the Management Body of Mount Parnonas-Moustos and learn the history of Kastanitsa, the medieval Castle, the patron saint church of Transfiguration with its unique iconostasis and wander through the picturesque alleys of the village.

To get to Kastanitsa follow the route Astros – Haradros – Platanos – Sitina. Be prepared for many turns and, just in case, bring an umbrella or raincoat because the weather is unpredictable.

Information
Cultural and Naturalist
The Association of the Castanitsians,
Theodoros Pephanis T 69-744-772-37

On 20 & 21 October the Tsipouro Festival in Piperia Almopia

Northwest of Thessaloniki, in Pella, near Aridaia with the famous Pozar baths and just 43 km from the ski resort of Vora, the well-known Kaimaktsalan,

started about ten years ago the Pepper Tsipouro Festival. Every November, in the central square of the village of Piperia, crowds of people from all over Greece come to watch the distillation process of tsipouro and taste this fine drink accompanied by traditional delicacies, music and dance. The village of Piperia is a predominantly “tsipourovillage” with seven distilleries run by people with passion and knowledge. Knowledge that was passed on to younger generations by the refugees from Asia Minor who arrived in the village in 1922.

The village was then called Bitso Mahala and there they found some vines perched on the trees.

The vines were made into vineyards in formation (Krevatines).

Since then they have specialized in this crop, which has now reached 1,100 acres.

The main variety of the region is Amasi. A white grape and quite late. This year’s celebration will take place on November 3 and as every year it is organized by the Cultural Association and the Local Council of Piperia, in the central square of the village where there will be plenty of free tsipouro with various delicacies and live music with dancing bands. Combine it with a visit to the Kaimaktsalan ski resort, the monasteries of Agios Hilarion in Promachos and Archangel Michael in Archangelos Almopia or enjoying the beneficial properties of the Pozar thermal baths.

Information
Cultural Association and the Local
Pepperidge Council,
Konstantinidis Petros T 6973693650,
Ioannidis Stavros T 6985632228,
Konakoglou Vassilis T 6982045418

Peanut Festival in Aegina
Since 2008 and every year, a great celebration has been held in Aegina to mark the harvest of the Aegina pistachio, the delicious and nutritious nut with a designation of origin. The 11th Aegina Peanut Festival will take place from 12-15 September 2019, with a variety of events that attract audiences from Greece and abroad. Enjoy pistachio in all its versions: Salted or unsalted, in pasteli, spoon sweets and syrupy desserts. Have fun with your favourite singers, such as Eleftheria Arvanitaki,
Philippos Pliatsikas and many others. Admire the works of great artists and let your children play to the sound of fairy tales in the Marcello Tower. Don’t miss to find time for a swim in the deep blue waters of the island and fill your bags with your favourite Aegina pistachio, straight from the producers.

Information
Aegina Fistiki Festival
T 2297022067