They say that if you truly want to get to know a place, you must see it in its joys and sorrows. To taste its food, to experience its festivals, to see how everyone comes together, how they revel and rejoice. Especially for Crete, the festivals in the villages are a unique experience. Virtuosos on the lyre, the lute, the traditional violin, the Cretan mandolin, quench the world’s thirst for folk revelry unlike any other.

If you find yourself on the island, especially in the summer, discover this vibrant tradition and revel with your soul in the countryside. But even in winter, you will find small gatherings in indoor venues.

The echoes of the lyre mingle with the chants of the celebration and warm the atmosphere. In Heraklion and its hinterland, local music and people are closely linked to the rhythm of life. Dancers start with a slow and steady step, synchronize with the lyre player’s rhythm, and the dance begins. In few social events does a community have as many opportunities for collective joy, as many chances for reunion, as in a festival. The serenades of traditional songs travel through the air, everyone dances around the village square bustling with people. Young and old, locals and foreigners, all become one at the festival.

The musical tradition of Crete remains alive, not as a museum-like folkloric entity, but as an integral part of the cultural everyday life of the local population. Cretan traditional music and spirited dances are intertwined with today’s identity.

As a crossroads of civilizations with history and tradition, Crete continues to pass on to the new generation the light of its culture.