Easter fun around the island

April 2, 2018

Welcome to Easter fortnight! Wait, two weeks? Well yes, because while much of the world is celebrating the resurrection today (Happy Easter expats!), Orthodox Easter falls on April 8 this year. Incidentally, for the next two years both celebrations are also seven days apart. In 2021, we’re looking at a separation of nearly a month, and the two dates won’t coincide again until 2025! Which basically means this wonderfully cosmopolitan island will be seeing double the celebrations for the next six years, certainly something to look forward to. Anyway, with the fortnight of celebrations currently ahead of us, there are all sorts of holiday events in the offing. Here’s our pick of the best three, arranged chronologically for your reading pleasure!

Taking place today (and yesterday) we’ve got a bazaar which promises to sate all your retail cravings. Hosted by Apothikes 79, a Larnaca-based venue which focuses on events and pursuits related to both traditional and modern Cypriot culture, the fête is billed as “an opportunity to bring the community together for the holidays and shop unique personalised and handmade gifts for everyone.” Open from 11 am to 7pm, this Easter Bazaar promises a little something for everyone, including “decorations, women’s clothing, jewellery, natural beauty products, food, children’s clothing, wooden constructions and more.” A Very Lengthy brunch is also on offer between the hours of 11am and 4pm and entrance to the premises is free – so even if you’re not in the mood for shopping, pop in for a look round the on-site art gallery or drop in to the café.

Not technically a specific Easter event, but definitely a godsend if the progeny are playing up over the holidays, the Petrides Farm Park Festival is taking place today. Yes, if your kids are driving you up the wall, pause only to finish this paragraph before tossing the lot in your SUV and setting your GPS for Marki village. Just outside Nicosia, the park describes itself as a petting zoo at which you can indulge in a spot of “farm life, ride a pony, hug a donkey, and collect the hen’s eggs” (there! A ready-made Easter egg hunt, even if the apostrophe suggests it the search may be rather brief!). Today, however, there’s more than the usual going on, with “many events such as traditional dances, Cypriot traditional toys for young and old, various Cypriot dishes, FREE Cypriot wine and much more.” And in that the main aim of the event is to promote cultural heritage, lots of traditional fare will be on offer, including “Cypriot sausage, Cypriot pasta, and Cypriot pies”. Entrance is five euros per person, while under-twos go free, and it’s probably the best thing you can do with the fractious kids today. (We reiterate: FREE wine. Why aren’t you in the car already?)

Jumping ahead a week or so, April 9 and 10 sees the annual CyHerbia Easter festivities – a two-day event that’s a delightful mixture of traditional and imaginative. While various activities will be taking place across the length and breadth of the award-winning gardens, the main event is probably the Easter Egg Hunt: a much-anticipated annual quest which sees hundreds of gleeful kids (and not a few adults) running wild twixt the soaring hedges. “On Easter Monday and Tuesday from 10am until 5pm, once again hundreds of Easter eggs will have found themselves hidden in the Maze at Cyherbia in Avgorou. Can you help to find them?” ask organisers, who add that they’re also willing to set up the event for kids’ clubs and schools on other days during the Easter holidays should you have a gang of restless children you wish to exhaust. However, Easter at CyHerbia is not all about the egg hunt: there’s also a search on for nests (hint – they’re somewhere in the Woodland area), and a number of “hidden bunnies” stashed here and there in the gardens. Traditional games are also on offer, including an Easter I Spy activity in the Herb Garden, an Egg & Spoon Race, Sack Race, and a frantic Tug of War. Games are ongoing all day with last admission at 4pm, and entrance – including all games and a cup of herbal (ice) tea – is five euros for adults, three euros for children between the ages of five and 12, and free for those under four.

Wherever you’re spending the hols, have fun and a Happy Easter!

Apothikes 79 Easter Bazaar

Tel: 99 083974 or visit loveapothikes.com
Petrides Farm Park Festival
Tel: 22 525255 or visit the Facebook page ‘Petrides Farm Park’
Easter at CyHerbia
Tel: 99 915443 or visit cyherbia.com

Source:  Cyprus Mail