“If you come across a feast in Sifnos, go. Food, wine, music, singing and hospitality create an experience unlike any organized event,” according to an online guide to the Greek island, which urges visitors that the traditional panigyri has become a “must” event.
But how long is that going to last?
“People really need to stop advertising the panigyri in any way. They’re losing their traditional character,” a Sifnian local tells Kathimerini, asking that his name not be made public.
“At the feast of Profitis Ilias Psilos just the other day, there were 10 Sifnians, 20 Athenians and 500 foreign tourists. The mystical element is lost on people, as is that this is a pilgrimage for the faithful. People just come for the free food and wine.”
They are also coming because it’s cool, it’s an “authentic” experience – even if that is the very trait they are undermining with their stance.
