Every year, the Municipality of Kissamos parades out the best of Crete in a festival so packed with cheese samples, folk bands, and hopeful pottery artists, it could only be described as ‘ambitious’. The Kissamos Festival of Taste and Art, which claimed high turnout and success in 2022, is back to do it all over again for the 16th time. Clearly, no lesson has been learned about moderation.
From August 16 to August 24, 2025, local authorities will transform the coastal road west of the Municipal Stadium into an open-air bazaar. There, the air is thick with the mingling aromas of thyme, honey and sweat as visitors shuffle between food stalls, cultural exhibits, and live music performances with all the discipline of cats at a fish market.
Main Attractions:
- Showcases of traditional local products (cheese, oils, baked goods, the occasional questionable spirit)
- Performances by musicians and performers who may or may not have rehearsed
- Cultural exhibitions that walk the line between enlightening and endearingly amateur
- Admission is free, a fact that was debated in several committee meetings
- Opportunities to meet the proud creators behind the region’s finest and most perplexing crafts
Who Gets to Stand Behind a Folding Table
While some festivals curate their participants with the selectivity of a Paris art gallery, here the net is cast wide. Producers, artisans, cooperatives, cultural clubs, and even neighboring municipalities are welcome. If you have a product, a pamphlet, or a compelling reason to be near hot oil, there’s probably space for you.
How vendors, artists, and artisans can participate:
- Registration runs from June 26 to August 12, 2025
- Just contact the Municipality of Kissamos and steel yourself for paperwork
- Reach Vicky Marakaki at 2822340200 or email koinofelisdkis@gmail.com
In theory, this open-arms approach brings together the full spectrum of Cretan creativity and industry. In practice, it means someone will inevitably try to sell you pine-infused soap or attempt to explain why dried figs deserve three exhibitions.
There’s something oddly comforting about a festival that blissfully ignores the fine line between chaos and celebration. The Kissamos Festival of Taste and Art offers more than just the promise of music and saturated fats. It hosts the Cretan spirit in its pure, unrefined glory, free for anyone willing to brave the crowds, late-night lyra solos, and possibly a surfeit of raki.
One could say it’s a tribute to tradition, community, and relentless optimism—or perhaps just the fastest way to experience eight centuries of Cretan culture, all crammed into one week, with free entry and a decent chance of sunburn.
