From the first cycle of performances to the second…
we live our summer in the city

After the successful first cycle of the 3rd Summer Festival of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, which took place in June and July, August finds us again at the Municipal Garden Theatre for performances with plenty of laughter and excitement as well as for concerts tributes to Vassilis Tsitsanis, Michael Sougioul and Mikis Theodorakis.
The first cycle of the festival captivated the city’s audience – especially the young people – while the great theatrical productions moved the theatre lovers.
This year’s summer festival has a varied and rich programme, full of freshness and vitality, combining the classic with the contemporary, nostalgia with the dynamism and energy of the young groups.
In the first cycle of the 3rd Thessaloniki Municipality Summer Festival, the audience enjoyed tributes to World Environment Day and European Music Day by the Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras of the Municipality of Thessaloniki and was introduced to the three-day multi-thematic Thessaloniki Buskers Festival _ Park Edition with travelling artists from Greece and abroad. With music, theatre, dance, music and dance performances, puppet theatre, puppets, shadow theatre, pantomime, stand up comedy, modern circus, juggling shows and demonstrations of skill, the city’s audience and its visitors experienced a multifaceted experience in the Garden of Seasons in the style of major cultural events such as Barcelona, Edinburgh and New York.
At the same time, the public attended 12 consecutive concerts, from 21 June to 2 July, organised by the Directorate of Culture in collaboration with the Street Mode team with alternative music and acts, which transformed the Municipal Garden Theatre into the city’s new concert spot.  We experienced the best live performances of the summer with Pyx Lax, PANX ROMANA, THRAX PANKC, 12th Monkey, Locomondo, Pavlos Pavlidis, etc.
Stavros Bairamis and the Cruxophone welcomed us on July 11th in one of the most beautiful places of the new beach, the Garden of the Glyptoi, with a rich musical program of old and new Greek composers, which delighted the attendees.
On 12 and 13 July, the director and composer Kostas Gakis reminded us – with his adaptation of Molière’s play “The Imaginary Patient” and Thanasis Tsaltamasis in the leading role – that we will never stop laughing at his hypochondriac antics, no matter how many years pass.
“The Glass World” by Tennessee Williams, on 21, 22 and 23 July, and the interpretive skills of Katia Dandoulakis, Lena Papaligoura, Konstantinos Bibis and Yannis Koukourakis captivated the theatre-going public.
The first cycle of the 3rd Summer Festival concluded with “The Great Plot” by Jordi Galtheran Ferret -on 27 and 28 July- and Leonidas Kakouris with Dimitra Matsouka in the leading roles unfolding a comic and funny play, full of twists and surprises, but also full of meaning.

Back at the Garden Theatre from 24 August
We return to the Garden Theatre on August 24 for our second cycle of musical and theatrical performances.
With the theatrical performances “Neighbours from Above” by Cesc Gay, and “Out of Control” by Arkas, as well as the concerts – tributes to Vassilis Tsitsanis by “10 Bouzoukia of Domna” and “Marigolds” on September 1 and 2.

A musical tribute to Mikis Theodorakis will be performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Municipality of Thessaloniki on 2 September, filling the streets of the city with his music (2/9 Iktinou pedestrian street 20.00-20.20, Agia Sophia pedestrian street 20.30-20.50, Pl. Aristotelous 21.00-21.20).

The Symphony Orchestra of the Municipality of Thessaloniki will bring the curtain down on the 3rd Summer Festival on 8 September, with a tribute to Michael Sougioul and the unsurpassed performances of Yannis Bezos and Eleni Demopoulou.

The detailed programme of the festival is available at e-thessalonikiculture.gr.