The choir was formed in 2003 with its initial membership being drawn from local pensioners who were already active at their own centre. After a number of years, membership was opened to all community members of any age. Since then, the choir has developed a very rich repertoire and gives regular concerts both on the island and at other venues. The continued existence and success of the choir is due to the harmonious relationship between its members and the musical leadership; the support of the municipality but, most vitally, the affection felt for it by all Ithacans.
Today’s choir is made up of over 30 choralists and the conductor with instrumental support featuring players of piano, harmonica, guitar and bouzouki.
 The inhabitants of the seven Ionian Islands grew up listening to serenades and sharing the experience of gatherings of people, young and old, singing along with their guitars and mandolins. Today, the choir and musicians are vital in maintaining this aspect of traditional musical culture.

The club was founded in 1980 and is based in the north of the island to allow a more localised representation in the sporting life of the island. The Odysseus club is part of the Kefallonia-Ithaca Football Clubs Association and has performed well both on the pitch and as supporters of island-wide social events.

In 1980, ‘Odysseus’ took up its membership in the strong all-prefecture league, originally in the second division, but in its first season (1980-81) the team was promoted. The highest position reached in the first division was third in the 1983-84 season. Another highlight was winning the second division title in 1988-89. The 2013-14 season saw ‘Odysseus’, for the second time, rise to the top of the second division, impressing commentators and opponents with the quality of their play.

This society is named after the unforgettable sports coach and educationalist who served at the Nautical Secondary school in Ithaca from 1961-74. The group is the realisation of his vision which saw its first manifestation in 1983 as the Municipality of Ithaca’s Dance group. The base was broadened by incorporating pupils in 1988, as a form of tribute to Charilaos Tsigonias and the society then took on its present form.

The Dance and Cultural Society remains a non-profit organisation whose members, a band of tireless workers, have over the years striven to learn more about, preserve and pass on the cultural identity of the Ithacans, in particular, and of the Greeks in general. The group has gained recognition both inside Greece and abroad with the constantly improving quality of its performances. It is also a vital, participating member of all organised cultural event

In October of 1984, the open protection centre of the elderly (KAPI) was founded with the aim of providing medical and social support for pensioners to ensure their continuing participation in family and community life. In 2011, the centre joined forces with the local pre-school group to create a new legal entity, ‘Elpinor’, under the auspices of the local municipality.

Today, ‘Elpinor’ has 322 people under its remit and it provides:

▪ a series of tests by specialist doctors in an attempt to prevent the development of illness
▪  social support for its members and others in their immediate family
▪ a programme of social and cultural events
▪ οne day long as well as longer excursions; fitness classes for pensioners; advice on medication and preventative measures and life-long learning opportunities
▪ support, under the Home Help scheme which, since 2013, has aimed at supporting housebound elderly  people, individuals who cannot care for themselves, as well as people with special needs. This group of activities offers voluntary workers, hospital care and support for family careers.

‘Penelope’ was founded in 1985 to promote the social, legal and political equality of women both in this small community and globally. The group offers to support all of the island’s women and carries out a series of cultural and philanthropic activities. ‘Penelope ‘ is proud to support the less well-off members of the community and, working with the local authority and other voluntary groups, feels that it makes a real contribution to the island’s development.

Group members involve themselves in encouraging house crafts and the continued production of local and traditional goods. Much of this produce is available at a number of exhibitions held throughout the year and from a select number of outlets on the island. The group is financially independent and relies on members’ subscriptions and on donations from other supporters.

In what is a difficult time for the whole of Greece, the group is making a sterling attempt to support women in their many roles—mother, wife, partner, housewife, worker and employee. ‘Penelope’ members are fully committed to supporting their partners and families but are also sensitive to the needs of senior citizens and to investment in children and, as such, are found to be present across a whole range of social and voluntary activities.

Contact Info¨

“Penelope”-The Ithacan Women’s Group
28300 Vathy Ithaca.
Tel (030) 2674032982

This non-profit society operates under the auspices of the Ithacan municipality. The broad aims are to develop and spread the arts of dance, music and painting as well as promote the broader elements of Ithacan culture. The society is required to organise dance, music and other cultural events and to develop and promote collaboration with other clubs and societies. A requirement is the setting up of an island dance ensemble and the staging, on an annual basis, at least one dance, choral or musical performance.

This amateur club has promoted sport on the island since it was formed in 1950.
 Originally, it had a very broad scope but since 1957 it has limited itself to the provision and support of sports activities. A whole range of sportsmen and women have found expression by taking part in the club’s activities. Today, ‘Proodos’ continues to produce teams that shine in football, track and field, sailing and women’s volleyball.

An island with a rich cultural past, Ithaca hosted a renowned amateur theatre festival for more than two decades. Not surprisingly, today it has its own amateur theatre group called “Phorcys”, the Ithaca Association of Friends of Theatre and Film. It consists of amateurs who love theatre, cinema, and every form of artistic expression. “Phorcys” was officially founded in 1996, but it is the continuation of the Theatre of Ithaca Group, which had staged theatre performances annually since 1991.

For over twenty five years, every winter the amateur actors of PHORCYS have presented their work and their repertoire includes theatrical works by Greek and foreign authors. To mention some:

Aristophanes (Lysistrata), A. Chekhov (The Cherry Orchard, The Three Sisters), Molière (Tartuffe), B. Brecht (The Threepeny Opera), I. Kampanellis ( A Tale Without a Name, The four legs of the table ), A. Casona (Trees die Upright), Z. Michel (Sunday Stroll), P. Nas (The Rainmaker), D. Kehaidis (With strength from Kifissia), G Xenopoulos (It’s not me), Z. Fenton (Cuckoo), P. Scheffer (Black Comedy),L. Pirandello ( So it is, if you think so), R. Brooke (Lithuania) etc.

During summer, a children’s theatre group is made up as well, so the children of Ithaca may get in direct contact with theatre plays and star themselves in a performance. At the same time, volunteers have operated, when requested, the Municipal Movie Theatre of the island from 1997 until today. Since the summer of 2015, supported by the members of “Phorcys”, public movie screenings have been taking place in open spaces all over the island in cooperation with the community clubs of the island. Last but not least, an ambitious project of presenting texts in the form of theatrical narration in various churches ( Agios Spyridon Bazigos, Old Virgin in Perachori, Annunciation at Kioni, Agios Nikolaos Paliorogka) takes place and has been received with enthusiasm..

Thus, despite the many months of preparation, the fatigue but also the dedication required, the members of the group – people who “hide” behind shop counters, behind desks, in public services, school classes, in the countryside, building houses or in their house in the mornings – manage to consistently provide a worthy entertainment proposal to the people of our island each year.

Contact info:

“The Phorcys”- Friends of Theater and Film in Ithaca
28300 Vathy Ithaca
Mob. (030) 6972608037
Facebook ΦΟΡΚΥΝΑΣ

The nature-loving hiking club of Ithaki ” THE TRAGodoi” was founded in November 2021 with the aim of promoting Ithaki ‘s natural beauty and systematically cultivating contact with our nature , the flora and fauna of our place. The proliferation of mountainous hiking, mountaineering, climbing and cycling, learning survival skills in the natural environment, and the preservation of our natural heritage, as it has been preserved till our days, thanks largely to the respect our ancestors showed through the passage of time, linking intrinsically ethical bonds of their lives with nature and natural resources and making up a civilization based on traditional agroforestry activities as well as the dissemination of love and respect towards the common good for the next generation which will be its natural inheritors.

Contact details :

Address: 28300 Vathi Ithaki
Phone number: 697 482 8729
Facebook: ΤΡΑΓοδοί.