2 Best Performing Arts Venues in Souvala, The Saronic Gulf Islands

Two of the most important festivals held at Agios Nektarios Monastery are Whit Monday (the day after Pentecost) and 9 November, the saint’s feast day, when the silver reliquary containing his remains is carried down from the monastery and through the streets, which are covered with carpets and strewn with flowers. The 9 November procession is regarded as one of the island’s major religious events, drawing pilgrims from all over Greece.

On the Assumption of the Virgin (15 August), the biggest summer holy day in the Orthodox calendar, a celebration is held at Panagia Chrysoleontissa, a fortified mountain monastery built between 1600 and 1651 to protect its miraculous icon from pirate raids. Thousands attend liturgy at dawn, followed by a daylong panigyri of music, dancing, and open-air grills—one of the island’s largest festivals.