This is one of the top three festivals held in Greece each year, and Greeks from all over pour into the city for the parade and subsequent debauchery (as only Greeks can do!).

Kristy and I went with our good friends Stephane (from France) and Ismael (from Morocco).

We always get a good laugh at the contrasts between living in Crete and living in NYC. The example on this day was the fact that in this “major city” in the middle of the biggest annual event in Crete, we managed to randomly bump into SEVERAL people we knew but didn’t pre-arrange to meet up. That just doesn’t happen at the St. Patty’s parade in NYC

Pictures are posted in David’s Picasa album.

Update: I found some youtube videos of the event! Maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of us among the masses

The party goes late into the night… stick around long enough and you may get to witness another spectacle intertwined deeply with local traditional celebrations: gunshots fired up into the air. (It’s a little disputed “fact” that all Cretans stockpile small, personal armaments of firearms… in case the Germans try to return.)