The Anyfantou Festival returns to Anogeia for its second year, from 5 to 13 September 2026, with an expanded programme dedicated to women creators and contemporary artistic expression. This year’s event takes place as part of the “WOMEN” parallel programme of the Crete Festival 2026, co-organised with the Region of Crete and the Municipality of Anogeia.

Drawing inspiration from the art of weaving as a symbol of memory, knowledge and creativity, the festival brings contemporary artistic practices into dialogue with tradition and the local landscape. For one week, different venues across Anogeia will host theatre, music, visual arts, participatory workshops, screenings and discussions, creating meeting points for artists, residents and visitors.

The programme opens on Saturday, 5 September with the participatory embroidery and weaving workshop “Reweaving Memory”, working with photographs from the local community and led by visual artists Dimitra Konstantinidi and Eirini Xanthioti. That same evening, at the open-air amphitheatre “O Topos tou Voskou”, Mairi Karazisi and Maria Skoula present the theatrical reading “Procne, Tereus, Philomela – A Story of Transformation”, with music composed by Alexandros Miaris, followed by a presentation of his musical work “Sonnets to the Stars”.

On Sunday, 6 September, Maria Skoula leads a theatre workshop for adults, while later in the day the visual arts exhibition “Beyond the Loom / Πέρα από τον Αργαλειό”, curated by Vicky Tsirou, opens at Anogeia Weaving House / Ανώγεια Κέντρο Υφαντικής.

The festival continues on Friday, 11 September with the award-winning performance “The Old Women Who Gather Nettles”, researched, dramaturgically adapted and directed by Konstantinos Dellas. The production, which received the First Audience Award at GRAPE 2025 and the “Karolos Koun” Award for Direction of a Greek Play 2024/25, brings three female figures to the stage and, through them, explores the narrative of the ageing female body, folk magic, food and oral history.

On Saturday, 12 September, at the Zominthos Archaeological Site, the “Simeio Miden” company presents Euripides’ “Iphigenia in Aulis”, translated by Pantelis Boukalas and directed by Savvas Stroumbos. Through a contemporary approach to the stage, the production sheds light on questions of war, power, sacrifice and human dignity.

The festival comes to a close on Sunday, 13 September with the theatre workshop “Introduction to the Method of Theodoros Terzopoulos”, led by the “Simeio Miden” company, followed in the evening by a screening of Dimitris Koutsiabasakos’ documentary “The Weavers” at Livadi Square in Perachori. The screening will be followed by an open discussion with the audience, attended by the director.

FREE ADMISSION TO ALL EVENTS

Advance booking is required for activities with a limited number of places.

More information:
Instagram: @anyfadoofestival
Facebook: Φεστιβάλ Ανυφαντού
Email: anyfadoofestival@gmail.com