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You are here: Corfu Benitses guide Culture Festivals in Benitses

Benitses festivals, celebrations

The events of the local community has always been based and dependent on tradition, and decades ago were spontaneous and natural as the other everyday events of life.
The feast of Saint Marina was a spontaneous celebration but limited around the church, which is the oldest in the region.
kids then impatiently waiting for the toys that were stretched out on benches around the church.
we all remember the fires day of St. John on June 22 but also the traditional winter holidays around Christmas.
All that has changed the evolution brought inevitable changes, everything becomes more organized and last longer, perhaps more commercialized.

The Cultural Association

it was founded in 1982 by some young people.
aimed to promote and preserve the traditional customs, but also the cultural enhancement especially of young people......more

Blessing of water

The events of the Blessing of water are organized with solemnity.
The same happens with the procession of the Epitaph on Good Friday, the procession of the second day Easter, which starts from the small chapel of Agios Nikolaos in Tsaki Area southern Benitses and ends in Central square as with the other procession Sunday after Easter.
Both are made to the accompaniment of the band of the Municipality of Achillion.

Resurrection on Easter

The resurrection on Easter Saturday has been established with feast of fireworks which was not happened in the past. The ceremony of the Resurrection now has nothing to envy from the ceremony that happens at the same time in the big square Esplanade in Corfu Town.

The fires of St. John

at 22 of June, the day of St. John, the Women Association of Benitses has undertaken to give glory and solemnity in the celebration with Lampatines (jumping over fires). The Lampatines are the fires of St. John as we call them here in the Ionian isles.

Anniversary for Union with Greece - The Achillian race

In recent years the union of Corfu with Greece is officially celebrated here.
every May 21st there is a parade of the school accompanied with the band of the City with the presence of officials...
One or two days later, depending on climatic conditions, an annual Achillian race has established, a semi marathon race in which anyone man or woman can participate regardless of age.....more

Festival of Agia Marina

July 17 is the celebration and the festival of Agia Marina which is the patron Saint of Benitses .
The church of Agia Marina, built on the banks of the river that once was passed through the village where right now is the road that goes to the old village, the river was used by the boats that went up to the mills which were near the present aqueduct to carry the flour.
The church is located in the same place but the river was diverted to another place.
The feast of Saint Marina lasts for two days (July 16 & 17) with perspective in near future to last more.
The Itinerant vendors occupy days ago the strategic positions.
Dances and songs keep up to the early morning hours and during those two days Benitses is jam-packed of the crowds.

The celebration of Sardine

Within the first ten days of August is organized the celebration of sardine.
To celebrate Sardines looks pretty far fetched but if we take into account that Benitses once was a fishing village, the largest in Corfu, and that the people in the past lived by fishing they have every right to create a celebration for the more popular and useful for health fish, the sardine.
On the day of the feast large quantities of sardines are cooked and offered for free to all visitors, of course it is not possible to
miss the various traditional bands and the partying till late.