Grape harvest festival breathes new life into Helidona

Hundreds of people will flock to the village of Helidona in Evrytania, Central Greece, for the All-Day Grape Festival on September 28. The festival is breathing new life into this village, whose population has dwindled dramatically over the last 40 years to 13 permanent residents, even if the census puts them at 50. A first step for its revitalization was taken in 2018 when a group of about 15 young people originally from Helidona drafted the revitalization plan, beginning with the harvest festival, a modern Dionysian celebration to honor the local tradition of viticulture.