2014 Flower Festival - posted 22nd May 2014

For more images of the 2014 flower festival click HERE
The 11th Annual Flower Festival at the Church of Ayia Kyriaki in Kato Paphos took place over the three days of 30th April, 1st and 2nd May 2014. As in previous years it was a joint venture with our Latin friends and supported three worthwhile charities – St. Michael’s Hospice, Paphos Heart Association and Cyprus Kidney Association.
Our theme this year was biblical and featured quotations from The Book of Psalms, which, from an artistic point of view, was appropriate as the Psalms were written in poetical form. Over 20 floral displays decorated this wonderful 16th century church to which so much history is attached. The aim was to portray, as faithfully as possible, the words of the chosen quotations, in both traditional and modern arrangements.
The Cyprus weather was very kind giving three days of warm sunshine, without being too hot or humid and the rain which had been forecast managed to wait until the Festival had closed. It is estimated that around 2,000 people visited the Church during the three days, many tourists arranging their holiday in Paphos to coincide with the Festival.
Visitors were again able to enjoy home made refreshments during the days of the Festival and each evening a musical event was staged in the Church. On the Wednesday evening Paphos Voices conducted by Keith Smith and accompanied by Nadia Iotava, entertained visitors to a wide variety of music and songs ranging from settings of several Psalms to a modern variation on the familiar ‘All things bright and beautiful.’ On the Thursday evening Malcolm Brinson A.R.C.O., A.R.C.M., a former Musical Director of the Anglican Church and who just happened to be in Paphos on holiday, treated visitors to a light-hearted organ recital, featuring music from the pens of J.S. Bach, Franz Liszt, G.B. Nevin, Alexandre Guilmant and many others. The Festival closed on the Friday evening with a ‘Songs of Praise’ with hymns old and new, chosen by members of the Anglican and Latin parishes.
Plans are already being made for the 2015 Flower Festival, but we are looking at the possibility of moving the date from the Spring to the Autumn, probably in early October. The reason for this is that in the Spring we have to avoid Lent and Easter of both our own Church and that of the Orthodox Church, which, in some years means that the Festival falls in the middle of May, when the climate is not kind to cut flowers and there is often a shortage of good quality blooms owing to demand. So watch this space!
PLEASE NOTE: The 2015 Flower Festival will take place on the 30th September and 1st & 2nd October.

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