Schoinoussa’s population may be small but it is welcoming and friendly. Locals are bound by their cultural traditions and this becomes part of the experience of any visitor to the island. The panigyri of the Panayia Akathi , held on the day after the last Friday of the Salutations to the Theotokos, features tasty local dishes and folk music that keep the celebration going strong until the early hours of the morning. On March 25, at Mesaria, services at the church of Evangelistria are followed by a communal feast; in the afternoon, local school children put on pageants celebrating Greek independence day. (March 25 is also the feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin.) On August 15, the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin is observed with a communal feast and folk dances around the church. This is preceded by a three-day festival of folk music and dancing organized every year on August 12-14 as part of the cultural program organized by the Schoinoussa Association. Other local religious folk festivals are the feast of Ayios Nektarios on November 9 and the feast of Ayios Filaretos on December 1. One of the biggest is held on December 6, feast of Ayios Nikolaos, at the small church at Faros. Pilgrims travel there by fishing boat from Mersini. After services,, guests are treated to fried cod with garlic puree.