Rhodes holds feasts unlike any others in the Aegean: one with horse races on a dirt track, one that runs as a fortnight-long pilgrimage, and one at a monastery on top of a rock.
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May - September
Panigiria run from May to September, and the season peaks at Dekapentavgoustos - the Dormition, on 15 August - when most villages hold their feast. Each programme is set close to its own saint's day, so the list fills late and empties out of season.
The largest is Agios Soulas - Saint Silas - at Soroni in late July. The three days of July 28, 29 and 30 draw tens of thousands, and its distinguishing feature is the horse racing: beside the chapel is a rough hippodrome where horses from across the island run, a custom kept for generations. August 15 belongs to Kremasti: the pilgrimage to the Panagia of Kremasti spreads across the first fortnight of August and peaks on the 13th, 14th and 15th, with Ialysos celebrating the same days. September brings Panagia Tsambika above Archangelos, on the 7th and 8th for the Nativity of the Virgin - a monastery on a rock whose steps pilgrims traditionally climb on foot.
Archangelos, the island's largest village, keeps some of the most living local customs on Rhodes, from its music to its feast-day tables. The music is Dodecanesian, with violin and laouto holding the tune, and the dance that opens the circle is the sousta - fast, springing, danced in pairs. On the table come goat or lamb, pitaroudia, local cheese, and wine from the vineyards of Embonas on the slopes of Mount Attavyros. The feasts here are open-air and open to all, and the big ones run longer than a night - the programme reads more like a three-day event than an evening.
Agios Soulas at Soroni, July 28-30, with horse races beside the chapel - one of the island's largest, drawing tens of thousands. Next is the pilgrimage to the Panagia of Kremasti around August 15.
At Kremasti and Ialysos on August 13-15, at Panagia Tsambika above Archangelos on September 7-8, and in villages such as Archangelos and Embonas. See the current calendar on Mood.
