Director: Mrs. Maria Psarrou The Folklore Dance Festival "Diamantis Palaiologos" (hereinafter referred to as the "Festival") is organised every year on Skopelos Island. The 5th Festival will take place over the period between the 26th and the 28th of August 2017. Participation in the Festival: Any folklore dance group from Greece or abroad has the right to apply for participation in the Festival. There is no limitation to the number of people participating from each group. Participation fee: 150 Euro for departure from Volos 155 Euro for departure from Agios Konstantinos Participation fee includes: Ferry Tickets (Volos-Skopelos-Volos or Agios Konstantinos - Skopelos - Agios Konstantinos). Ferry tickets for the bus and coverage of the driver's accommodation expenses. Accommodation for three nights at a hotel with breakfast. Festival material, participation in festival. Also, in case you wish to dance with live music, the festival's professional orchestra can accompany you without extra charge, with music from nearly all the regions of Greece. Each group that will participate will receive a complete DVD will all festival nights, and more than 1500 photographs in electronic format. Accommodation: Taking into consideration the large number of tourists visiting the island, and the peak season during which the Festival is organised, we cannot guarantee that each group will stay at the same hotel. Our goal is to have each group staying at the same hotel, without having to separate them between more than one hotels. However, if this is not feasible due to lack of vacancies, the group must then be separated between more than one hotels, but we will ensure that they are very close to each other. The Festival commits that the accommodation used for its needs will be of acceptable standards and clean. The available rooms that will cover the needs of the festival will be either triple or quadruple. Moreover, 3 double rooms will be given to each group, to cover the needs of each mission. If any group requires more double rooms, then there will be an extra charge of €20/person for the three nights and for a single room €40/person for the three nights. Criteria for selection of groups: The selection of the groups will be made by the organising committee and the groups will be selected to participate according to the following criteria: Order of submittal of application The dances to be presented on stage Regions represented and presented (in order to have participation from all regions of Greece and abroad). If more than one groups meet the same requirements, priority will be given to the one that applied for participation first. With regard to the selection process, any dance group that wishes to participate must send the participation application to the Festival by 20 March 2017, regardless of the method of dispatch selected. The selection process will be completed by 10 April 2017, and the groups selected to participate will be informed by phone call and e-mail by 20 April 2017. The participation application is a commitment of interest for participation in the Festival. If for various reasons the group that has submitted a participation application has encountered a serious obstacle regarding its participation, the next group meeting the same requirements will be selected. The participation of the group in the 5th Folklore Dance Festival "Diamantis Palaiologos" will be finalised with the deposit of the advance. The advance deposit must be equal to 20% of the total cost (Participation price * number of people participating = Total cost) which must be paid by 30 April 2017. The other groups that expressed an interest in participating will be informed of the results by 15 May 2017. Technical requirements: The dance time on stage given to each group will be 18 minutes. The dance group may present a program during one evening, of a total duration of 18 minutes. Also, 2-3 minutes are given to each group to introduce the dances, their costumes, etc. Under no circumstances can the group exceed this time on stage, and if they do, the Festival reserves the right to stop the show, should the specified time be exceeded. Transportation on the island: The accommodation, event venue, as well as the cafés and restaurants are located in the Town of Skopelos. No means of transportation are required since all distances are no more than 10 minutes on foot. The groups that have their own bus can participate on the day of the excursion to the scenic village of Glossa, to the beach for swimming and the beach party at one of the island's popular beaches, as well as the guided tours along the route. The Festival will have tour guides available for each bus, and it intends to cover the ferry ticket fares of the bus between Volos-Skopelos-Volos or Agios Konstantinos-Skopelos-Agios Konstantinos. It will also cover the driver's accommodation expenses, with only obligation that the groups will follow this excursion as planned by the organising committee, and will have an open rehearsal at a central point of the village of Glossa, if requested by the organising committee. The groups that cannot bring their own bus to the island, in order to follow the excursion must either rent a bus only for that day (unfortunately there is a limited number of buses available by island travel agencies) or take the public bus or make arrangements with other groups, if they have vacancies which can be covered by members of other groups. The groups coming to the island on their own bus must assure that the vehicles have a legal license and that the driver has a legal permit to drive them. The routes to be taken by the buses are specified, and are the same as those followed by the public buses of the island. In case of any accident, the Festival bears no liability. Venue of events: The Festival will provide a safe area where the groups can change and store their costumes during the show. We kindly request that no valuable items are kept in this area, as the festival will not be held liable in case of their loss. The Festival is committed to taking all safety measures in order to prevent any bodily injury at the festival venue. Program: The Festival retains the right to change or modify the programme mentioned in the invitation. The Festival retains the right to publish photographs and videos taken during the Festival whenever it is considered necessary or useful in order to promote or advertise the Festival, and under no circumstances for commercial purposes. Part of the event will be filmed for promotional purposes. Any participating creators to appear in such materials will have no claim from the organising company. The organising company reserves the right to cancel or change the date of the Festival due to strike, government prohibitions, force majeure, etc., or even due to any problems that may arise regarding the ferry schedules. In case of a difference - discrepancy, the Greek text of the participation terms and conditions shall prevail. Submittal of a participation application entails the full and unreserved acceptance of all the above terms and conditions of participation. Any group willing to participate must submit an Application form. Approved groups pay in advance a 10% guarantee fee to EAFF, which is to be deducted at the final payment. The groups that will be selected must pay 600€ during 10 days after sending the guarantee fee to EAFF. Then they must make a third payment by June 30th, equal to 40% of the total cost, and the number of participants must be finalised by that date. The remaining 30% of the participation must be paid either a few days before the arrival of the dance groups at Skopelos or by cash upon arrival at the island.