1st PAMVOTIS FESTIVAL

Living Museum of Myths - Legends - Traditions 

Ioannina 2023 | September 1-3

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The 1st PAMVOTIS FESTIVAL was an innovative, multisensory and multi-layered cultural festival organised by KALLIERGON syn and held in Ioannina during the first three days of September 2023. It formed part of the Pamvotis Lake Project, a wider cultural initiative developed through interconnected actions throughout the year.

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The name Pamvotis is Homeric and derives from the words pamvotor or pamvotir, meaning “the one that nourishes everything.”

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At the heart of the festival was the concept of a “Living Museum” or “Living History Museum” — an experiential approach that brings elements of the past into the present and invites visitors to engage with them directly. In the context of the Pamvotis Festival, the concept centred primarily on the re-enactment and reinterpretation of myths, legends and traditions transmitted through oral memory, with the rich history and intangible cultural heritage of the region serving as its point of reference.

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A central narrative thread of the festival was provided by literary texts by Christina Tzialla. Drawing on local history, myths, legends and oral traditions, these texts expanded the existing narrative landscape through fiction and the creation of new myths, bringing historical memory and imaginative storytelling into dialogue.

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The texts presented during the festival originated from Christina Tzialla’s literary work OUI – Tropaea ApoTropaea | Epic Fantasy Stories, which at the time had not yet been published. The work has since taken its printed form and was published in 2026 by Aparsis Editions.

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The festival focused primarily on the Byzantine and Ottoman periods, including the era of Ali Pasha. Its activities drew on literature, history and oral tradition passed down from generation to generation, following the flow of time while maintaining a continuous dialogue with the past.

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Visitors were invited to become active participants rather than passive spectators, entering an immersive journey through stories, places and sensory experiences. Several activities incorporated inclusive and multisensory elements, allowing a wider range of participants to engage with the experience. Many visitors also responded to the invitation to attend dressed, wholly or partly, in clothing and accessories inspired by the historical periods explored during the festival, becoming themselves part of the Living Museum.

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The 1st PAMVOTIS FESTIVAL also sought to highlight the contemporary face of Ioannina through new forms of cultural expression, including interactive theatre. Many of the locations selected for its activities are closely associated with the identity of the city, allowing the urban and natural landscape itself to become part of the experience.

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Through this approach, the festival explored the potential of culture as a driver of alternative and experiential tourism, connecting cultural production with place, local identity and entrepreneurship. What separates today from yesterday is only the surface of the lake’s fresh water. Its waters become a connecting thread across centuries. As boats carve their paths across the lake, their imaginary traces seem to write stories from different eras — stories to which water, memory and oral tradition have gradually given the dimensions of historical myth.

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The festival honoured Lake Pamvotis — the “mother” of Ioannina — and its enduring presence as a life-giving source and defining element of the city’s identity. Through this association with the feminine and the life-giving nature of water, the 1st PAMVOTIS FESTIVAL was dedicated to women.

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A special tribute to the 1959 film Astero also served as a catalyst for activities and presentations looking towards the future and the further development of the region in the fields of culture, tourism and entrepreneurship.

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The photographic portraits presented at the festival as free artistic interpretations and projected onto the waters of Lake Pamvotis were created by Makis Anastasiou. The projection of these portraits onto the lake introduced an additional visual dimension to the festival’s relationship with memory, place and storytelling.

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Makis Anastasiou also created the portrait of Kyra Frosyni as a “Kallimartyr”, accompanying on our YouTube channel an excerpt from OUI entitled “Tis Chrysis tis paramanas”, as well as the portrait “MOTHER”, featured on the cards of an interactive game.

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The background image of the festival poster was conceived and directed by Stefanos Papazapraidis, drawing inspiration from Christina Tzialla’s literary work. The same image had previously been used for the poster of the first action of the Pamvotis Lake Project, held in January 2023 as a tribute to the Kallimartyres.

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The photograph has since become the cover image of "OUI: Tropaea ApoTropaea | Epic Fantasy Stories" by Christina Tzialla, published by Aparsis Editions in 2026, creating a visual thread that connects the literary work with the cultural actions that brought elements of its world before the public even prior to its publication.

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Under the auspices of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), the Region of Epirus & the Municipality of Ioannina

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FREE ENTRANCE/PARTICIPATION ​