*By Daphne Tsartsarou
If you are looking for a trip that combines nature, myth, people, art and emotion, then the Rokka Festival is your next destination. Not just to see, but to feel. Because there, art is not performed on a stage – it is performed in life.
At a time when cities are bustling with big festivals, somewhere in western Crete, two small villages counting just 60 permanent residents set up something truly big every summer. The Rokka Festival, from 2013 until today, is not just a cultural festival: it is an act of faith in the power of community, art and dreams.
From July 30 to August 9, 2025, the villages of Rokka and Kera are transformed once again into natural theaters, stages and soundscapes. Every stone, every balcony, every gorge becomes part of a living narrative, with this year’s theme “The Metamorphoses of the Unseen”. Envisioned through memories, shadows and dreams, this year’s event connects the hinterland of Crete with the international artistic scene – but always with an eye turned inwards.
Villages-canvas, art-breath
Rokka and Kera are not simple venues. They are the protagonists themselves. The archaeological site of Rokka – where the altar of the goddess Vritomartis, nickname of Artemis, once dominated – hosts the great concert, while the courtyards, alleys and balconies of Kera are transformed, through the action “Kera Mia Skeni”, into a theatrical walking experience. The viewer moves with a map in hand and encounters small surprise performances, in a scenography made of stone, history and pulse.
As Meti Panagiotopoulou, artistic director of the festival, notes:
“The villages themselves become the scenic landscapes for the events and each year they reveal their beauties to us. The archaeological site and the gorge of Rokka, the watermill of Kera, the hidden paths, the stone-built buildings, the wells… all of these give us the opportunity to discover stories and people, to weave narratives and to bring to light what has remained unseen. The natural scenes of the villages alternately become the narrator, the viewer and the medium, leaving visitors with the feeling of a conversation between art and nature.”
From a café in the heart of the hinterland
It all started with Panagiotis Simandirakis’ idea for a concert at the archaeological site. The community embraced the proposal, and little by little the residents began to dream of more: workshops for children, contemporary theater, music under the full moon. Today, the Rokka Festival is a cultural wonder made with passion, perseverance and cooperation. No professional spectators, no tickets – everything is offered to everyone.
The initiative of the residents is the secret of success. From the first posters and the first lights, to the hospitality of the artists in their homes and the cooking for the crew, each celebration is built from within. The village grandmother can make the pies for the crew, the neighbor’s child can participate in a theater workshop and someone else can help set up the stage.
A vision with roots
Meti Panagiotopoulou recalls that the organization began in 2013 and the path it has taken so far is the result of the meeting of our “dreams”. First, Panagiotis Simandirakis dreamed of a concert at the archaeological site of Rokka, then the residents dreamed of villages filled with voices and footsteps, “a little later, some of us dreamed of original art in the hinterland and somehow together we created a common dream… to strengthen the organization and the villages, to activate local youth, to create stable infrastructures, to interact with art and society”.
A festival, therefore, that does not simply “come” to the villages, but is born within them, every year, with a new reason and a common soul.
Source: e-daily.gr
