The Center of Excellence in Food, Tourism & Leisure (CoEFTL) was prominently represented at the Leisure Studies Association (LSA) Conference 2024, hosted by the University of the West of Scotland from July 9-12. In the spirit of the conference theme “(Re)claiming Leisure: Rights, Responsibilities, and Resistance”, Fiona Bakas presented ongoing research on the strategic management of community-led festivals, in collaboration with Stella Kladou and Maria Psimouli. Their work specifically addresses the organizational challenges and social value of small-scale carnival-festivals in marginalized, peripheral areas in Greece and Portugal.
The study was conducted in partnership with environmental and cultural NGOs Lousitânea (Portugal) and the Fokida Cultural Centre (Greece), who organized the respective community-led festival-carnivals studied. The presentation, titled “Small-scale carnival festivals in marginalized areas: Reviving local heritage and community benefits”, highlighted the potential of such events to foster community cohesion and cultural sustainability in under-served regions.
The LSA conference provided an excellent outlet to disseminate this research, which was recently featured as a book chapter in “Reimagining Community Festivals and Events: Critical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives” (Jepson, Stadler, and Walters, 2024). This publication, available through , provides critical insights into the interdisciplinary dimensions of community festivals and events.
Dr. Bakas personally extends her gratitude to Deree – The American College of Greece, for their generous support in making this research possible.
For more on CoEFTL’s involvement in conferences and other events, please browse our News, Events and Activities section.
