549 village feasts, processions, wine festivals and summer festivals across 80 islands — with the village and the date, not "sometime in August". Pick a month or an island, filter by kind, and put the ones you want in your calendar.
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1–2 February · Flevariotissa monastery
The winter panigiri of Astypalaia, at the monastery of Flevariotissa in the island's interior on 1-2 February: after vespers the courtyard fills with food cooked by the islanders, violins and dancing through the night. Only for those who are on the island in winter, which is exactly its charm.
2–3 February
Spetses has three local saints, the neomartyrs Nikolaos, Ioannis and Stamatios, martyred in Chios in 1822, and their church in town keeps 2-3 February with vespers and an episcopal liturgy; the 2022 bicentenary brought several bishops. A winter feast for the island's own, not a tourist event, but the tavernas around the Dapia are open.
10 February
Agios Charalambos is the protector of Paxos and his 10 February feast is the island's winter high point: hierarchical liturgy at his church in Gaios with the Metropolitan of Corfu, the mayor and the schools, then a procession of the icon along the waterfront and a reception. Boats from Corfu run all winter; almost nothing else is open, which is the point.
24–25 February
The patron of Skopelos, a 4th-century bishop beheaded on the island, is honoured on 24-25 February: on the eve his relics are carried from the church of Christos in the Chora to the monastery of Agios Riginos 4 km south-west, with a stop at the old Ai-Riginaki bridge where he is said to have been martyred, and after the liturgy the faithful hand out local sweets (the Skopelos loukoumi and amygdalota). It is the one day the whole island is on its feet in winter; ferries from Volos still run but hotels are mostly shut, so book a room in the Chora in advance.
13–14 March
Among the most distinctive carnivals in Greece — the 'Yeros' figure dressed in goat skins and bells dances through the village. Pre-Christian roots, deeply Skyrian.
14–16 March
Chios's famous carnival custom, listed in the national intangible-heritage register: on Carnival Sunday (the last Sunday before Clean Monday) Thymiana, just south of Chios town, re-enacts the villagers' victory over pirates with the 'talimi' sword dance and a procession of masked 'Mostres', now combined with a float parade. Run by the MEOTH association over the last carnival weekend, with thousands attending including visitors from Turkey. Go early, the village roads are closed.
14 March
Crete's biggest carnival, running the whole Triodion with a treasure hunt, a night parade and a children's parade, and peaking on Cheese Sunday (the day before Clean Monday) with the grand parade along the waterfront: in 2026, 28 floats and about 11,000 participants, ending in fireworks. Hotels in the old town book out for that weekend; the parade starts mid-afternoon and the streets around the harbour close from midday.
14 March · Hydra Town / Kamini
On the last Sunday of Apokries the islanders parade in fancy dress from the harbour along the coast path to Kamini, with music, a giant papier-mâché head and horsemen (and donkeys, this being Hydra), ending at the tavernas of Kamini. Tsiknopempti before it means street barbecues on the port. Ferries from Piraeus run all winter, and rooms are at their cheapest.
15 March
The mastic village of Nenita in the south ends carnival with a traditional Clean Monday panigiri in the village square, organised by the 'Vokaria' cultural association with a live folk orchestra, Lenten food and dancing. Nenita also holds a summer panigiri for Agioi Anargyroi (1 July) and an early-August village feast.
15–17 March
The most literary carnival in the Aegean: the 'Satyros' carnival society of Agiasos writes satirical verse in the local dialect, performs it in the streets and runs masked parties, a children's masquerade and a 'patinada' with traditional musicians on Carnival Sunday, all culminating on Clean Monday with kites, free bean soup and rice pudding and the big satirical procession. Runs the last two weekends before Lent; the Monday is the day to be there.
15 March
The Rethymno carnival closes on Clean Monday in two villages just outside town: Gerani (west, on the coast road) and Armenoi (south, on the Spili road) stage the old Cretan Lenten customs, mock weddings and satirical skits, with lagana, olives, taramas and wine for everyone and lyra players in the square. Go around midday; both are 10–15 minutes from Rethymno.
25 March
Second great Marian feast at the Church of Panagia. Smaller than August but still significant — and this is when the icon was discovered in 1823.
22–23 April
Pyli celebrates Agios Georgios with the island's traditional horse races: after the liturgy, riders from the village race bareback on the plain below Pyli, then there is a glendi with food and music on the square. If 23 April falls in Lent it moves to Easter Monday. Asfendiou has its own Agios Georgios the same day, with mezedes in the little forest.
22–23 April · Skyros Chora
St George is the patron of Skyros (the Venetians called it Isola San Giorgio) and his 10th-century monastery sits on the rock under the castle above the Chora. The feast on 23 April, moved to Easter Monday when it falls in Lent, is a liturgy and procession rather than a tavla panigiri, but it is the day the Chora dresses up. Steep climb; go up early and have coffee in the square afterwards.
23 April
On St George's morning shepherds drive thousands of sheep and goats down through the village lanes to the church of Agios Georgios Galatas, where the priest blesses the flocks; the animals are then milked on the spot and the milk (several tonnes of it) is handed out to everyone present. It is a real working custom, not a show, and it ends with raki and Cretan music in the kafeneia. Be there by 9 am, park at the edge of the village and walk in; if 23 April falls in Lent the feast moves to Easter Monday.
23 April
The port village is named for its church of St George, and on 23 April (or Easter Monday in Lent years) the liturgy is followed by a feast in the church courtyard with food and wine for everyone. The island's spring gathering, before the first tourists.
23 April · Pano Koufonisi (Chora)
St George is the island's protector: after the liturgy on 23 April (or Easter Monday if the date falls in Lent) the icon is taken round the island by caique with the fishing boats escorting it along the coast, the lanes are strewn with flowers, and the community serves boiled beef and patsas with drinks before the party moves to the tavernas. A rare chance to see Koufonisi as a working fishing island before the season.
25 April
The longest of the litanies, commemorating the 1630 plague, takes the saint's body right around the old town on Palm Sunday morning with all eighteen or so philharmonic bands of the island playing; it is the start of Corfu's famous Easter week, which continues with the Holy Saturday litany and the pot-throwing. Come at 11am and stand near the Spianada to hear the bands cross.
26 April
Patmos's Easter is among the most spectacular in Greece — the monastery hosts the niptiras ceremony on Holy Thursday, with the abbot ritually washing 12 monks' feet. Pilgrims from across the Orthodox world.
29 April
Open-air ceremony in Chora's main square: the abbot of the Monastery of Saint John ritually washes the feet of 12 monks, reenacting Christ washing the disciples' feet. One of the few places in the Orthodox world where the rite is still performed publicly.
Late May
Week of events around 20–27 May commemorating the WWII battle. Most events centred on the cemetery at Souda and various villages where the resistance was fiercest.
May
Ios claims Homer's grave — tradition puts it at Plakotos in the north — and honours him each May with the Omiria, the island's main cultural festival under UNESCO's auspices: performances, exhibitions, concerts and contests. A quieter, older side of an island better known for its summer party.
1 May
In Vrondados, two rival parishes — Agios Markos and Panagia Erithiani — fire tens of thousands of homemade rockets at each other's bell towers across a 400m valley, while the midnight Easter liturgies continue inside both churches. Possibly the most spectacular Easter event in Greece. Watch from the slopes of Mount Aepos for safety.
1 May
At exactly 11am on Holy Saturday, signaling the First Resurrection, residents throw large clay water-filled pots from their balconies onto Liston Square below. The crash of thousands of pots, accompanied by philharmonic bands, is meant to drive away evil. Adopted from the Venetians. Arrive by 9am for a viewing spot.
2–3 May
Kalymnos does Easter louder than anywhere in Greece. Rival groups, each 'owning' one of the two mountains above Pothia, hurl homemade dynamite sticks across the harbour all through the Resurrection liturgy — a deafening barrage that rattles windows in the town below. A sponge-diver's tradition rooted in the island's resistance streak. Watch from a distance: this is genuinely loud and genuinely explosive.
3–9 May
The icon of the Panagia is carried from house to house across the island for the week after Easter — a procession unique to Folegandros, with locals hosting the icon overnight in turn.
6–7 May · Koronos (Argokoili)
On the Friday of Bright Week (five days after Easter) the whole of Naxos climbs to Argokoili above Koronos, where the icon of the Virgin was found in 1836: the icon is carried down from the old church on Thursday evening and back up with a huge procession around 10:30 on Friday morning, with the Metropolitan, a vigil overnight and stalls selling food. Many walk up from Koronos; if you drive, park early on the road below because it fills for kilometres.
6–7 May · Chora (Kastro)
The fortified 17th-century monastery above Kastro celebrates on Bright Friday, the first Friday after Easter: on the eve the sponsoring family lays on a communal meal at the monastery for the whole village, and in return keeps the icon in their house for the year. It's the island's spring feast and, with the Easter week, the best reason to come to Sikinos out of season; climb the steps from Kastro before dusk.
Last weekend of June
Annual reenactment of Admiral Miaoulis's 1822 victory against the Ottoman fleet. Fireboat burned in the harbour, naval parade, fireworks. The most spectacular event in the Saronic.
Last Sunday of June
Tiny Psara remembers the 1824 Ottoman destruction that wiped out one of the revolution's great naval islands — the last defenders blew up their own powder magazine at Mavri Rachi rather than surrender. The last Sunday of June brings a memorial service, wreaths and cultural events. Solomos's poem about the 'black ridge of Psara' is part of every Greek's schooling.
Throughout summer (June-September)
Not an official festival but a phenomenon: Skopelos hosts a steady stream of Mamma Mia! pilgrimages to Agios Ioannis chapel (the wedding scene). Local tavernas screen the films, host themed nights, and run weekly tribute events through summer. The tourism economy runs on it.
a weekend in late June or early July, 3 days
Free three-day music festival on the beach and in the village since 2011, with stages in front of the hippie caves, on the square and by the bridge; Greek pop-rock headliners, tribute bands and DJ parties, plus street-painting, yoga and kids' activities. Dates move: 4–6 July 2025, 19–21 June 2026. The village is overwhelmed, so stay in Pitsidia or Kalamaki, or book Matala Camping months ahead.
7 June
Memorial of the 1824 destruction of the island by Egyptian-Ottoman forces. Solemn, not festive — but historically the most important date in the Kasos calendar.
9–10 June · Chrysopigi (near Platys Gialos)
Sifnos's biggest festival, at the cliff-top monastery. The icon is paraded; tavernas serve free chickpea stew and lamb to all comers.
20 June
In Agia Paraskevi village, an ancient and unusual ritual: a bull is paraded, blessed, then ritually slaughtered and shared communally. Pre-Christian roots, controversial in modern times, but among Greece's most extraordinary surviving folk traditions.
24 June
Folk Saint John's Eve tradition still alive on Milos: at sunset, unmarried girls collect water from a well in silence and predict their future husbands through tokens placed in it overnight. Bonfires are jumped on the 24th. Smaller and more intimate than the better-known Cretan version.
July to September, most nights in August · Gialos / Chorio
Three-month cultural festival across Symi: classical and traditional music, theatre, dance, art exhibitions in venues like Panormitis monastery, the Symi Naval Museum, and various harborside squares. Refreshingly substantive for an island this small.
July through August (varies)
Three-day traditional weddings in Olympos still happen in the original form — costumes, music, lyra. If you're in Karpathos and a wedding is happening, all visitors welcome.
July through August
Annual cultural festival named after the island's most famous son. Open-air concerts, theatre, the symbolic re-reading of the Hippocratic Oath at the Asklepieion archaeological site. Major draws are the dance performances and ancient drama productions in atmospheric settings.
Early July through mid-August
Eastern Crete's big summer festival, named after the 17th-century Sitia-born poet Vitsentzos Kornaros, author of 'Erotokritos'. Six weeks of concerts, dance, theatre and exhibitions in and around the Venetian Kazarma fortress, plus village panigiria with raki, Cretan bands and communal tables. One of the most honest cultural experiences on the island.
Late July or August (varies)
The largest ouzo celebration in Greece, running since 1981 in the Epano Skala neighborhood of Mytilene with parallel events in Plomari (the ouzo capital). 40+ labels for tasting, traditional dances, local food. Free admission.
19–20 July · Profitis Ilias summit, above Apollonia/Katavati
Pilgrimage on foot to the highest point of the island (680m), where a small chapel sits on the summit. Locals walk up before dawn.
20 July
Profitis Ilias always sits on a summit, so these panigiria happen at hilltop chapels with the whole island spread out below and the dancing under the stars. Several villages celebrate the same night.
26–28 July · Agios Panteleimon monastery
The island's biggest panigiri — three days at the fortified Agios Panteleimon monastery on the green slopes of Profitis Ilias. Pilgrims come from across the Dodecanese for the liturgy to the island's patron, the healer saint, and the celebration runs on live music, dancing and free food and wine deep into the night. The monastery is about 8km from Megalo Chorio.
weekend around 22–24 August, Saturday–Sunday · Fragata (Omala)
Annual celebration in Frangata (Sami area) of the indigenous Robola variety. Tastings, tavern events, music. Robola only grows on Kefalonia and Zakynthos and has a Protected Designation of Origin. Confirm dates locally — they shift year to year.
6 August
Christos Rachon throws one of the two biggest panigiria on Ikaria, for the Transfiguration. The mountain village fills with thousands and the proceeds fund the village all year — school, roads, the clinic. The dancing routinely runs until 7am.
10–11 August
One of four annual processions of the relics of Saint Spyridon, patron of Corfu. The casket is carried through the old town accompanied by all three philharmonic orchestras. The August one commemorates deliverance from a 1716 Ottoman siege.
14–15 August
The big island festival at the Portaitissa church just below the castle. Procession, music, lamb on the spit.
14–15 August
Ios's biggest feast — the Dormition, celebrated at the cliff-edge church of Panagia Gremiotissa crowning Chora. Morning liturgy, then the whole village tips into eating, dancing and music until dawn, with fireworks over the harbour. The walk up through the white lanes at dusk is half the experience.
14–16 August
Three-day panigiria in Olympos and Othos villages with traditional dancing.
14–16 August
Major panigiri across the inland villages, especially Filoti — three days of music, food and dancing. The biggest celebration on the island.
Mid-September (4 days)
Annual celebration of the harvest. Tastings, music, exhibitions, cooking demos. Dates vary year to year — check the municipality's site before traveling.
first Saturday of September
At the fishing shelter of Panteli, the prettiest harbour on Leros, the municipality closes the summer with a fish night (6 September in 2025, 7.30 pm): free fried fish mezedes and wine, music and dancing on the quay. Go early to get a seat on the wall.
a Saturday in September (12 September in 2026), previously held in summer · Naxos Chora
The Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Naxos gives away tonnes of the island's famous potatoes fried, boiled and baked on the harbour square in Chora, with big-name Greek singers on stage and dancing until late; 2026 was the 17th edition and its 100th anniversary. Free entry, several thousand people, so get to the square by 20:00 for a table.
7–8 September
Two-day pilgrimage to the chapel atop Mount Kalamos (460m) — a vertical limestone monolith on the island's east coast, second only to Gibraltar in Mediterranean profile. Pilgrims walk up overnight; an all-night service ends with sunrise above the Aegean. The most spectacular small-island pilgrimage in Greece.
7 September
Patron saint of Lemnos. Pilgrimage to the church at Akti and surrounding panigiri.
8 September
The single most spectacular naval festival in Greece. Reenacts the 1822 Battle of Spetses — a wooden replica of the Ottoman flagship is set ablaze in the harbour, with fireworks. Hundreds of thousands attend; book accommodation months ahead.
24 September
Kythira's biggest day. The miraculous icon — found in a myrtle bush in the 14th century — draws over a thousand pilgrims to the Myrtidia monastery. After the 9am liturgy the icon is carried in procession around the grounds behind the Potamos brass band, with sweets and coffee handed out to everyone. Also marked on 15 August.
25–26 September
Feast of the patron saint at the Monastery of Saint John. Pilgrimage and procession.
October (typically 2nd weekend)
Living-history festival inside the medieval Old Town (UNESCO site): jousting knights, archery, sword fighting, fire shows, medieval markets, theatre. Reenacts life under the Order of Saint John (1310-1522). Run by the non-profit Medieval Rose since 2007. Held in October since 2023 — recent editions have been on the 2nd weekend (e.g. 10-12 Oct 2025).
last weekend of October, 2 days
The Municipality of Kissamos runs the chestnut weekend across Elos, Vlatos and Limni: a Saturday evening glenti and, on Sunday, an all-day open-air feast in Elos with roasted chestnuts handed out, a market of local products, dancing and live music. Held on the last weekend of October (25–26 October in 2025). Elos is an hour from Chania on mountain roads; it can be cold and wet, so dress for it.
second week of October, 8 days
One of the big autumn fairs of Central Greece: it grew out of the livestock market around the church of Agios Dimitrios in the medieval village of Avlonari 100-150 years ago and now fills the Chania district for eight days (7-14 October in 2026) with hundreds of stalls, tavernas under canvas and a livestock market a day or two before. Locals reckon four hours to walk it; come in the evening for the food and music, and bargain.
a weekend in mid-October (16-18 Oct 2026) · Fira / Oia
The island's main sports weekend: a 1.5 km open-water swim from the volcano across the caldera to Fira's old port, and trail runs of 5, 10 and 15 km along the caldera path between Fira and Oia. Entries open in spring and the swim sells out; it is also a cheap, warm time to see the island.
4–5 October
Kimolos's own saint, Osia Methodia (1861–1908), is honoured at the Panagia Odigitria church where her relics rest: vespers on 4 October, liturgy and a procession of the relics on the 5th, then a glenti with live folk music laid on by the residents and the municipality. It is an off-season feast, so ferries are thin — come from Milos by the Pollonia boat and stay the night.
25–26 October
The autumn feast of the mountain villages of Asfendiou (Zia, Lagoudi, Evangelistria) is Agios Dimitrios on 25-26 October, with a vespers and a glendi with local food. A good excuse for the Zia sunset without the coach parties.
26 October
The last panigiri of the year on the west side: on 26 October the village of Agios Dimitrios in Raches, via its cultural association 'I Litani', serves roast kid, mezedes and Ikarian wine with the Stroupa/Zevkalides orchestra. Autumn light, no tourists, jackets needed. The village also has summer feasts (a July glendi with the Zevkalides and Agios Fanourios on 27 August).
first Sunday of November
On the first Sunday of November the saint's body is carried through the old town for the 1673 deliverance from plague, with the philharmonic bands and the town in its Sunday best; it is the quietest of the four litanies and the one Corfiots themselves love most, with the shops of the Liston open and the first koumkouat liqueur of winter poured. The morning route is the same as in August; the bands start about 11am.
1 November
The spa village of Therma, next to Agios Kirykos, keeps the November feast of Agioi Anargyroi (1 November) as a psaropanigiro: fish and seafood instead of goat, wine, and island music by the little harbour. A winter-season curiosity for anyone on Ikaria for the hot springs; the summer version of the same saints is on 30 June-1 July.
7–8 November
Patron saint feast at the cliffside Monastery of Archangel Michael at Panormitis bay. Pilgrims arrive from across the Dodecanese; the saint is said to grant wishes left in messages tied to floating bottles.
7–8 November
Each 8 November the monastery and the Region of Crete mark the 1866 siege in which the defenders blew up the powder store rather than surrender: a memorial liturgy, wreath-laying at the ossuary, speeches and a parade of the local schools and associations, with vespers and events the evening before. The Rethymno–Arkadi road is busy that morning; go early and see the church and the powder-store ruin before the ceremony.
7–8 November
The island's patron feast at the fortified 16th-century Taxiarches monastery near Galani, in the north: vespers on 7 November and liturgy on the 8th, with a communal meal for everyone who makes the trip and Serifiots returning from Athens. It is the one off-season event worth planning a visit around — but check ferry schedules, as November crossings are few and weather-dependent.
9 November
Major pilgrimage to the monastery where the saint lived and is buried — one of the most venerated saints in Greek Orthodoxy. Thousands come from the mainland.
13–15 November
Hydra's own saint is Konstantinos the New Martyr, born on the island around 1770 and executed in Rhodes in 1800; his relics lie in the cathedral of the Panagia on the harbour, and 13-15 November is the island's biggest religious weekend, with vespers on the 13th, an episcopal liturgy and a procession of the relics round the port on the 14th. Off-season, so the island is quiet and cheap; the Metropolitan of Hydra presides and the port cafés fill after the procession.
20–21 November · Chozoviotissa Monastery, Chora
Feast of the Presentation at the dramatic clifftop monastery. Smaller crowds than 15 August festivals elsewhere — proper local atmosphere.
5–6 December
The historic church of Agios Nikolaos, restored in 2022 with funds from shipowner Athanasios Martinos, is the island's parish church and its patron's feast on 5-6 December is the one winter day the fishing village fills up, with vespers, liturgy and a blessing at the harbour. The ferry from Tripiti takes ten minutes and runs all year.
5–6 December
Anafi's patron saint has his church on the main square of Chora and the island keeps his day, 6 December, with a liturgy and a formal communal meal organised by the cultural association. It's a residents' winter feast — a handful of visitors at most — and reaching the island in December depends on the weekly Santorini boat and the weather.
5–6 December
The chapel of the sailors' saint at Koumbara beach, west of the port, is where Ios celebrates 6 December: liturgy, then food and wine for the handful of islanders who are around in winter. Worth knowing if you are on Ios out of season.
5–6 December
The town named after the saint keeps 6 December as its patronal feast: vespers on the 5th, hierarchical liturgy and a procession of the icon through the centre and along the lake on the 6th, with the municipal band and school parades, and the town's Christmas lights switched on around the same days. The tiny 8th-century chapel of Agios Nikolaos at the Minos Beach headland, which gave the town its name, also holds a liturgy.
5–6 December
The port of Mersini celebrates the sailors' saint on 6 December with a liturgy and a communal meal for the islanders who winter on Schinoussa. Worth knowing only if you are there in December.
6 December
Skiathos, a sailors' island, decorates boats rather than trees: on St Nicholas' day, 6 December, the municipality lights the big illuminated boat by the Bourtzi at the old port at 8 pm and switches on the town lights, with carols and a stall or two, and smaller lit boats appear in house windows. It opens a month of Christmas events at the Bourtzi cultural centre (bazaars, Karagiozis, school plays). Ferries run a reduced winter schedule from Volos and Agios Konstantinos, so check them first.
11–12 December · Elafonisos (harbour church)
The patron's winter feast at the church of Agios Spyridon on the harbour on 12 December: vespers on the 11th, liturgy and a procession of the icon along the quay on the 12th, and a reception offered by the parish. The island has a few hundred winter residents and one or two kafeneia open; the ferry from Pounta runs all year.
16–18 December
The winter feast of the patron: after the liturgy on 17 December the incorrupt body is carried through the town to Solomos Square and back via Agios Markos with the philharmonics of Zakynthos, Artemision and Alykes, the schools and a dozen visiting bishops; the body stays out for veneration for two more days before being returned to its silver casket. Cold, crowded and very Zakynthian; the pastry shops around Agios Markos do the best mandolato.
Dates are resolved for 2027: fixed saint's days as they fall, movable feasts computed from Orthodox Easter (2027: 2 May). Panigiria are usually held on the eve of the saint's day, and a village occasionally shifts one to the nearest weekend — where an entry says "confirm locally", the date comes from recent years' announcements rather than an official calendar. If you know better, the feedback button exists for exactly this.
