KATERINA PARRI
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center celebrates Carnival Sunday and Clean Monday with live concerts, traditional Greek music, salsa, workshops, kite flying, and free activities for all ages in Athens.
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center has become a landmark destination for celebrating Carnival and Clean Monday in Athens. Once again this year, it welcomes Lent with a rich program of events featuring live music, dance, and imaginative activities, offering a vibrant carnival experience for all ages.
On Sunday, February 22, the SNFCC hosts an open celebration at Stavros Niarchos Park filled with color, rhythm, and creativity. Creative workshops, face painting, and salsa lessons set the mood, culminating in a high-energy live concert with explosive Latin rhythms by Rosanna Mailán & The Orchestra.
On Clean Monday, February 23, the SNFCC celebrates Koulouma with a grand traditional festivity of Greek songs and dances curated by Vasiliki Karakosta, inviting visitors of all ages to fly their kites at Stavros Niarchos Park.
Below is the detailed program of the two-day celebration, all with free admission:
Sunday, February 22
Open Salsa Lesson
11:00–12:00 | The Great Lawn, Stavros Niarchos Park
An open salsa class for everyone, filled with festive spirit and carnival rhythm. A joyful introduction to the basic steps—perfect for warming up, discovering salsa, and getting ready for the live concert that follows.
Design & Implementation: Stella Koutsoulidou, Latin dance choreographer and dancer
Concert: Rosanna Mailán & The Orchestra
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12:00–14:00 | The Great Lawn, Stavros Niarchos Park
Mailán, a Cuban singer and musician, presents a dynamic music and dance program featuring international and Greek hits in salsa, mambo, and cha-cha rhythms. Accompanied by a 10-piece live orchestra of wind and percussion instruments, made up of Cuban and Greek musicians, and a dance group, she delivers a show inspired by the carnival traditions of Latin America.
Face Painting
11:00–15:00 | Park Kiosk, Stavros Niarchos Park
Free participation on a first-come, first-served basis
On Carnival Sunday, children’s faces are transformed with colorful designs inspired by Carnival.
Design & Implementation: Moutzoures
The Colors of Cuba: Creating Carnival Masks
11:30–14:30 | Pine Grove, Stavros Niarchos Park
For children aged 5+
Free participation on a first-come, first-served basis
Children explore the rich and vibrant history of Cuban carnival—from the 17th century to today. Inspired by images, colors, and shapes that highlight Cuban aesthetics, they create their own unique masks, blending imagination with elements of Cuban mask and dance traditions.
Design & Implementation: Vasilis Gerodimos, visual artist
Workshop Support: Ioanna Plessa & Lydia Vairaktaraki, visual artists
Clean Monday, February 23
“Sky & Earth” Festivity
12:00–15:00 | The Great Lawn, Stavros Niarchos Park
On Clean Monday, the SNFCC hosts a musical celebration curated by Vasiliki Karakosta, dedicated to sky and earth where sound, movement, and collective memory meet. With uninterrupted rhythm, song, and dance, the celebration unfolds as a journey through the musical traditions of Hellenism, honoring nature, freedom, and the deeply human need for togetherness.
Ancient songs and melodies from across the geography of the Greek world unfold in a rhythmic, almost ritualistic flow, entering into dialogue with contemporary compositions inspired by our traditional folk music. Past and present coexist, reminding us that tradition is not a museum relic but a living, breathing part of everyday life.
Creator and performer Vasiliki Karakosta brings together leading musicians and singers from different generations and regions, composing for the first time a unique musical encounter. A vibrant ensemble that, guided by collective experience and the sound of memory, transforms Clean Monday into a celebration of shared uplift and anticipation.
Participants:
Theopoula & Lambriana Doitsidi Sisters, the legendary voices of Thrace
Kyriakos Gouventas, violin
Andriana Achitzanova, voice – ney
Petros Halkias, clarinet
Maria Anamaterou, voice
Panos Skouteris, tsampouna – gaida, flutes, clarinet
Alexandros Magklaras, voice
Ioanna Riga, santouri
Leonidas Posis, violin
Dimitris Tsekouras, double bass
Nikos Halkias, laouto
Kostas Sideris, laouto
Andreas Papas, percussion
Thanasis Makos, percussion
Kostis Giannakopoulos, sound engineer
Vasiliki Karakosta, voice & artistic direction
The Dance Department of the Cultural Association of the University of Athens will also participate with traditional Greek dances and performances.
Instruction & artistic supervision: Maria Papadopoulou, Theodoros Vrakatselis.
Cretan dance instruction: Dionysis and Michalis Kryfos
With the kind participation of six students from the Athens Music School.
The concert will be broadcast live on Second Programme 103.7 radio.
Visual Arts Workshop: Dreaming Kites
11:30–14:30 | Pine Grove, Stavros Niarchos Park
For children aged 4+
Free participation on a first-come, first-served basis
Using paper, colors, ribbons, and plenty of imagination, participants create kites inspired by dreamlike animals or fantastical creatures ready to fly, dance, and tell a story.
Each child designs their own kite, choosing colors, shapes, and details freely, without right or wrong, allowing the wind to lift their dreams high.
Design & Implementation: Archontoula Tsatsoulaki, visual artist
Workshop Support: Eleftheria Gertsou & Eleanna Balesi, visual artists
Creative Screen Printing at Stavros Niarchos Park
12:00–15:00 | Pine Grove, Stavros Niarchos Park
Free participation on a first-come, first-served basis
A screen-printing workshop that revives the tradition of Lady Lent (Kyra-Sarakosti), blending heritage with contemporary creativity. Visitors, with the support of the tind team, will learn the screen-printing technique and create a poster-calendar marking the seven weeks of Lent. Using removable ink, they will print figures and minimalist symbols, freely experimenting and bringing a traditional custom to life through art.
Design & Implementation: Manolis Angelakis / tind
Workshop Support: Stavros Karopoulos
Throughout Lent (Sundays March 1, 8, 22, and April 5), a series of workshops for children aged 7–10 titled “Lady Lent Through Contemporary Eyes” will reinterpret the traditional custom of Kyra-Sarakosti through visual practices and educational activities. More information available on the SNFCC website.
