Friendship & Tradition Festival (Rethymno, Crete)

The second stop of the 4th Friendship & Tradition Festival will be the Prefecture of Rethymno in Crete.

On June 12, the Municipality of Chalkis will host lyre player Grigoris Samolis, who has managed to build a devoted following throughout Greece. Born in a small village in Aimonas, Mylopotamos, in the Prefecture of Rethymno, the artist began engaging with music at an extremely young age, starting at just 7 years old, and officially embarked on his musical journey at 12. Since then, he has collaborated with many artists and has taken the music of Crete all over the world.

On June 13, the theater group of the Brotherhood of Cretans of Rhodes “Psiloritis” will present this year’s artistic production, while that same evening the meeting of Cretan and Chalkian traditions will turn into a grand gathering, featuring dances and songs by the Association of Chalkians of Rhodes Ag. Ioannis, the Chalki Cultural Association “To Myrtos,” and the Brotherhood of Cretans of Rhodes “Psiloritis.” Musically, the two traditions will be represented by Nikos Skoutelis (lyra), Michalis Kostakis (lyra), Binis Zampetoulas (laouto), and Nikos Kanavakis (keyboards).