An important meeting for the Cretan music tradition takes place every summer in the village of Gergeri. The annual festival 'nature & humans' presents the musicians that carry on the Cretan music tradition of askomantoura (a kind of bagpipe) and of the Cretan wind instruments. According to historical researches and sources from the Venetian period, askomantoura is one of the oldest musical instruments of Crete, which has lost its popularity in our days. The Cretan lyra, the most popular instrument in Crete today, is related to similar instruments of the East and it seems that it has Byzantine-eastern origins. It was probably introduced in Crete during the Turkish occupation, in the 17th-18th century.
The festival also presents art exhibitions and symposiums that aim to promote historical memory, research and the collection of valuable material about the folk wind instruments.
Events take place from the 9th to the 17th of August and include activities for children, theatrical plays, concerts and much more. The askomantoura concert will take place on Saturday August 10 (20.00) and the festival concludes with a Cretan music festival on Saturday August 17 (21.00) with the bands of Antonis Fragkiadakis and Michalis Fragkiadakis.