Houdetsi Music Festival is a four-day celebration of music, dance, art and local culture, taking place every year in the village of Houdetsi, 23km from Heraklion.
From August 4 to 7, the 7th edition of the Houdetsi Music Festival will seek to surpass yet again the aspirations of those who have supported it over the years and have recognized it as an authentic and truly alternative cultural expression of the highest calibre.
The original concept of the Festival was to provide an opportunity for collaboration between the Musical Workshop Labyrinth together with the local community who hosts its activities, as a token of mutual respect and recognition as well as as the spontaneous expression and realization of an event with international significance. The long standing, systematic and dynamic integration of the essential elements of some of the world's most significant traditions, a hallmark of Labyrinth's work, has given rise to new standards and practices in the realm of the musical traditions in question.
Houdetsi Music Festival succeeds in highlighting the magic of the meeting and uniting of different musical worlds, combining them harmoniously with local colors, images, scents, and tastes in a celebration of hospitality, extended unconditionally by the local people to all who wish to participate in this unique festival.
The conscious choice of the creators and organizers of the Houdetsi Festival of a policy of entrance and participation free of charge is not merely the result of adverse the economic circumstances of our times. The basic philosophy and characteristics of the festival clearly necessitate such a policy. Of particular relevance in this context is the participation of hundreds of musicians and volunteers free of charge.
During the four days of the festival, the 5 stages, the exhibition of musical instrument makers, visual artists, the various spontaneous happenings, the quaint and enticing lanes of the village will all invite you to follow the thread of your own Labyrinth.