The First Apokries Weekend
The First Apokries Weekend in Athens falls on 27 and 28 February 2027, opening the carnival season of the Greek Orthodox Triodion, which runs to Clean Monday on 15 March.
The First Apokries Weekend is the opening carnival weekend of the Greek Orthodox Triodion period in Athens, held on 27 and 28 February 2027. The Triodion — the pre-Lenten cycle of the Orthodox calendar — opens on Sunday 21 February 2027 with the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. The 2027 season is a late one: Pascha falls on 2 May, approximately five weeks after Western Easter, placing the carnival well into March.
The three carnival weeks are traditionally named Profoni (announcement), Kreatini (meat) and Tyrini (cheese). Tsiknopempti, the Thursday of grilled meat, falls on 4 March; Apokriatiki Sunday, the final carnival Sunday, falls on 14 March; Clean Monday, the first day of Lent, falls on 15 March. Keramikos and Plaka are the principal areas for parades and street celebrations in Athens.
The first weekend is the quieter of the three Athens carnival weekends; the principal carnival weekend falls on 13 and 14 March. The Patras Carnival, held to the south-west, is larger in scale and peaks the same Sunday.