Skopelos

The US film production company Universal Pictures will soon start shooting the sequel to the hit 2008 American-British-Swedish film musical Mamma Mia! in Croatia, on the island of Vis.

The film, following a popular Broadway musical, featured Hollywood stars Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, among others, singing along to hits from the 1970s Swedish legendary pop band Abba.

Customized Playmobil figures are a big thing - the toy company's website even has a set of guidelines on the matter. Collectors will no doubt be aware of the figures from Greek history and mythology, but 20-year-old Petros Kaminiotis's series of ornate traditional Greek costumes in miniature for the iconic figures take the pursuit to a whole new level.

The fifth annual Diamantis Palaiologos Folklore Dance Festival, put together by the Plegma nonprofit organization, is all set to go on the island of Skopelos, featuring traditional dances from all over Greece, as well as Nepal, Italy and Spain, while also serving as a showcase for traditional costumes. Festivalgoers will also have the opportunity to take part in dance classes.

A sequel to the blockbuster film "Mamma Mia!" - featuring a starr-studded cast singing songs by chart-topping band ABBA - will be made in Croatia and not Greece due to money constraints, according to the UK's Daily Mail.

There is perhaps no better way to see the northern Sporades than via a leisurely sailing trip through the turquoise waters of this cluster of small islands located in the northwestern Aegean.

Greek locations used as sets for international movies have always witnessed a subsequent increase in foreign visitors - just think "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" (Cephalonia) or "Mamma Mia!" (Skiathos, Skopelos) - serving as a great boost for the tourism industry at those destinations.

Shark sightings in Greek waters in the Aegean Sea are a rarity. But when the Brousogiannis brothers pulled up their nets they were surprised to find a 7-metre shark. According to skopelos-news-blogspot.gr, the fish weighed over 300 kilos. In March fishermen in Nea Kio of Argolis had reeled in a 4-metre shark.

A team of recue workers and soldiers was dispatched from the central Greece town of Volos to the northwestern Aegean island of Skopelos on Thursday to rescue dozens of shepherds who have been trapped by heavy snowfall since Saturday.

A passenger ferry is moored at the port of Skopelos Monday as a Siberian weather front brought snowfall to the western Aegean island - the heaviest in 30 years, according to locals. Authorities on the island were struggling to keep roads clear of snow and maintain access to the local health center and helipad, they said.

The island of Alonnisos has no power and Skopelos is almost buried under 1,5 meters of snow, while at Kimi there are tens of villages cut off. At the island of Oinousses there is no telephone connection for four days and in Crete the snowfall has created serious problems too.