All events in Kalamata
Panigiria Near
Messinia keeps one of the densest summer programmes in the Peloponnese: from early July to the end of August the villages of the plain and of Taygetos celebrate on almost every evening.
Panigiria · Kalamata
May - September
Panigiria run from May to September, and the season peaks at Dekapentavgoustos - the Dormition, on 15 August - when most villages hold their feast. Each programme is set close to its own saint's day, so the list fills late and empties out of season.
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Panigiria Near Kalamata
The season opens in early July in the villages around the city - Sperchogeia, Laiika, Aithaia, Verga, Arfara, Asprochoma - and climbs gradually into Taygetos, to Nedousa, Poliani, Artemisia and Alagonia. The peak falls on August 14 and 15, when Platy, Ano Verga, Artemisia, Kato Chora Milias, Strefi, Koromilia and Achladochori all celebrate at once. August closes with feasts at Arfara, Agios Floros and Karveli. The dance that took its name from the city, the kalamatianos, is the most widespread circle dance in Greece - and here it is danced at home.
Alongside the saint's days runs a calendar of produce festivals that shows what each village grows. An oil festival at Mikri Mantineia and Vlachopoulo, a rice festival at Sperchogeia, a wine festival at Lada, an artichoke festival at Mikromani, a potato festival at Alagonia. It is no surprise: Messinia is identified with Messinian olive oil and the Kalamata olive, and with them raisins, wine and meat. At the feast-day tables these come back as food - ladera, roasts, local cheeses and wine - and the evening runs late with a live band.
Common questions
Where can I find panigiria near Kalamata?+
In the plain villages - Sperchogeia, Arfara, Aithaia, Asprochoma, Platy, Agios Floros - and in the Taygetos highlands at Nedousa, Poliani, Artemisia and Alagonia. See the current calendar on Mood.
When does Messinia hold the most panigiria?+
From early July to the end of August, peaking on August 14 and 15 when many villages celebrate at once. Alongside them run festivals of oil, wine, rice, artichoke and potato in the villages that grow them.