It is that time of year again… the time of year when Larnaca takes the spotlight and is the epicentre of Kataklysmos celebrations. The time of year that people from all over the island flock to our seafront and every inch of parkable – and non-parkable space is taken up.
So, what do you think of our Festival of the Flood celebrations? They keep going strong, and we actually celebrate 100 years this year! That is pretty amazing, but I don't tend to go anymore.
When I was a teenager, it was indeed the highlight of my year as we (the teens of the time!) would love the bumper cars on the beach and spent most of the time at the fairground on the sands. I would walk from my parents' home in Drosia, so parking wasn't an issue, and we really did enjoy the whole atmosphere. People would really dress up for it in their finest and walk up and down the promenade people-watching, like they used to in the villages when my dad was a teenager and the Sunday 'peripato' (walk) to see the opposite sex was the highlight of the youth's week!
As I got older the festival started to lose its shine for me. I am not sure if it was the frustration as a driver of not being able to enter the town centre or park, or if the stalls have become increasingly tacky. Fast forward to today, and I don't take my kids in the evening at all for two reasons 1) It is so packed that I become claustrophobic pushing through the crowds and fear I will lose them, and 2) they just want to buy the dodgy-quality rubbish at the stalls and make my life very difficult when I say 'no'.
Granted, the entertainment is good and eagerly anticipated. A lot of planning goes into it and elements of the old traditions, such as the improved rhyming matches of 'Chatista' still take place, but still… I just don't feel it anymore.
The addition of uniform, white tents of recent years is also nice and gives the place a much tidier look - so it is not reminiscent of a gypsy carnival - but the stalls are still not of the greatest standard and as is the case every year, whatever one stall has, the rest have too – all from the same supplier so it is very 'samey'.
And with times changing, there is no longer the thrill of buying music cassette tapes! The stalls selling mix tapes and really, really good copies of international artist's tapes were one of the highlights of my youth! But I do give the 'lokmathes' (honey dough balls) and traditional fruit and nut stalls a thumbs-up, as well as the kiosks of local crafts (my favourite bit) as they are representative of our customs and culture.
As for the people-watching, folks still walk up and down the promenade constantly with no real purpose, but as we are living in a time when people either dress up or down all the time depending on their personality, there is no definition of 'special occasion' wear, so there isn't that pride of having dolled up for the event.
Don't get me wrong… I am all for maintaining traditions and having our own cultural events that form part of Larnaca's identity, and I love the whole atmosphere of it all, but I don't equate that to struggling to park, just so my kids can buy a fake Minion/Smurf/Super Mario stuffed toy!
