September is a wonderful month to spend some time in Cyprus and this year was no different. The very hot days of the high summer are gone and milder weather, together with a wide selection of cultural events, make the island a pleasant place to spend a week or two.

In Ayia Napa, the normal dance music beats were replaced with the softer sounds of jazz and Latin music as a dance festival was held in the Ayia Napa Thalassa Municipal museum on 6th September. A larger dance festival took place later in the month in Limassol when the two day Dancecyprus Gala started on 11th September at the Rialto Theatre. International performers in many disciplines had been invited and organisers promised dancers from the Royal Ballet and Berlin State Opera company on their programme of performances.

For sports fans the chance to take part in a cycle race was on offer on 13th September when the last in a series of nine individual races was held. These time trials are run off over various distances of up to 25 kilometers and were based around the town of Dhekelia, to the east of Larnaca.

For those with small children, the biggest hit of September may just have been the Barney Live Tour event which put on 10 shows in Paphos, Larnaca, Nicosia and Limassol. Most of the shows were in Greek but there was one English show in Limassol. Most children will know the Barney character, a purple dinosaur, who has enjoyed seventeen years of fame since the original American TV series started in 1992.

One final event for September was the annual Ayia Napa Festival which took place between 25th and 27th September. Running for the past 24 years, this is a celebration of Cypriot culture and included various dance, music and folklore events that proved very interesting for tourists on the island. Proceedings started on Friday evening with 3 different musical performances. Dance performances were the mainstay of Saturday's programme, while a spectacular firework display concluded proceedings on Sunday evening.