This year’s festival is inspired by the myth of Persephone, a story of transformation, resilience, and the profound impact of journeying into the unknown.

Taken suddenly by Hades into the underworld, Persephone’s disappearance plunged her mother, Demeter, the Olympian goddess of fertility, into grief and despair. In her sorrow, she cast the earth into a lifeless winter, withholding growth and renewal. The suffering of humanity compelled Zeus to intervene, persuading Hades to release her. But before her ascent, Persephone unknowingly ate pomegranate seeds—binding her forever to the underworld for six months each year.

With her return, Demeter rejoiced, and the earth blossomed once more. Yet Persephone was no longer the same. She had become more than a daughter—she emerged as the Queen of the Underworld, ruler not just of a realm, but of her own inner world.

Festival Hellenika is our offering of pomegranate seeds—an invitation for you to embark on your own transformative journey through art, philosophy, comedy, dance, food, war, migration, dislocation, AI, theatre, gardening, poetry, identity, and even the cosmos.

Like Persephone, we are all travelers between worlds—physically, intellectually, spiritually, and culturally. We negotiate our identities across landscapes, histories, and experiences. Through these journeys, we return changed—stronger, wiser, more self-possessed.

May we, like Persephone, embrace the power of transformation and emerge renewed.