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You have all week to discuss what needs fixing around the house. This weekend, leave it broken for another 48 hours. There’s a queen expecting visitors in Pyrga, wine waiting in Kalo Chorio and enough happening in Nicosia to make “there’s nothing to do” a fairly difficult argument to defend.
Across the island, the options range from art installations and street comedy to village food and a seaside eating expedition. You could even squeeze in a little culture before dinner. Nobody needs to know it was the food market that got you out the door.
This is the sort of outing that begins with “we’ll just have a look” and ends with bags of things, a full stomach and somebody explaining which relative used to make the best palouze.
Friday: Go out for culture. Stay because there’s food.
Old Nicosia gets busy on Friday night with the opening of WIP Festival: Flows, bringing exhibitions, performances and live music to CYENS and the surrounding spaces.
The opening starts at 6:30 p.m., with free admission to exhibitions and performances, while the party continues until midnight. Fork Food Market will also be there, conveniently settling the question of whether you can appreciate art on an empty stomach.
Go with someone curious. Or someone who knows when to stop explaining an installation and suggest getting something to eat. Both are valuable qualities.
Nicosia takes the entertainment outside
Also arriving this weekend is ArtCargo, with free performances bringing circus, comedy and a welcome interruption to the usual city-center routine.
Saturday’s programme includes street comedy with The Atari Show at 2 and 6 p.m., and contemporary circus with Soft Spot at 3 and 5 p.m. Check the festival program for the exact locations before setting off.
It’s a good excuse to wander around town, stop for coffee and watch people whose physical coordination extends considerably beyond carrying three supermarket bags in one hand.
Saturday: Royal company in Pyrga
Pyrga is dressing for a different century on Saturday, Oct. 17, with its Renaissance Fair running from 3 to 10 p.m.
Expect costumed performers, storytelling, music, crafts, archery and horse riding, with food and drink stalls around the village square and Royal Chapel. The fair imagines a visit by Queen Catherine Cornaro and her entourage, giving your afternoon outing rather more ceremony than the usual “where shall we park?”
Take the children for the activities. Take the adults for the food. Keep an eye on whichever member of your group becomes suspiciously enthusiastic about archery.
Finally, an occasion where announcing “the queen has arrived” might refer to someone other than the friend who kept everyone waiting.
Head for the hills. There’s Commandaria.
In Kalo Chorio, Limassol district, the Commandaria & Tradition Festival takes over the central square on Oct. 17–18, celebrating the wine and the traditional foods that make a village outing wonderfully difficult to keep brief.
There will be opportunities to join in palouze preparation, try traditional products and sample Commandaria and zivania. Admission is free, which leaves a little room in the budget for whatever you decide absolutely must come home with you.
This is the sort of outing that begins with “we’ll just have a look” and ends with bags of things, a full stomach and somebody explaining which relative used to make the best palouze.
The published listing starts at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and finishes at 10 p.m. Sunday. For the daily program, call 25 542580. Choose your designated driver before the tasting begins; enthusiasm is not a transport plan.
Sunday: Give the children something to do and yourself something to eat
The Zoopigi Fun Day runs on Sunday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Xanthos Nicolaou Community Park.
There are children’s activities, food, drinks and stalls, with free admission. Net proceeds will support repairs to the village’s historic Zoodochos Pigi church.
A village day out, a little shopping and a good cause: a respectable amount of achievement for a Sunday, particularly if your original plan involved moving from the bed to the sofa.
Prefer your dinner with a sea view? Paphos has a plan.
The Seaside Street Food Festival — Autumn Edition is listed for Oct. 16–18 at Medieval Castle Square in Paphos, bringing food vendors and live entertainment to the waterfront.
Admission is free, and the published listing gives a 7:30 p.m. start. Confirm the evening’s arrangements before travelling.
Take someone willing to share. There is little point going to a street food festival with a person who orders one thing, eats it and declares themselves finished. You need ambition. You need teamwork. You need someone who understands that “shall we try one more?” is the entire point.
Pack a light jacket — October has remembered its job
Saturday could bring afternoon showers and rain overnight, particularly in the west, while Sunday is expected to be mostly fine. Keep an eye on the forecast before heading to outdoor events.
Otherwise, wear comfortable shoes, leave room for lunch and resist making so many plans that the weekend starts requiring a spreadsheet.
The cupboard you were going to organise will still be there on Monday. Unfortunately.
