The first days of July the whole city strew with contemporary sounds and music from the Mediterranean Festival. For 4 years now, the Mediterranean festival's main ambition is to open up bridges of communication between tourism and the music, between Greek and foreign tourists. There is one language we all share, that of music, musicians coming from all over Greece, as well as the wider area of the Mediterranean, like Balkan and the East play and improvise on stage creating fresh melodies and relive the old ones to advance the cause of culture and communication between natives and foreign visitors. During the Festival, there is a market with local products, musical instruments, and other stuff, while parallel run entertaining activities and creative workshops.

Kornaria Festival- named after the Sitian-born poet Vintsentos Kornaros, who wrote Erotokritos a masterpiece of the Cretan Renaissance in which the poet recounts the trials and tribulations suffered by two young lovers, Erotokritos and Aretousa. This festival includes traditional music concerts, folk dance performances and theatre shows at Chlouveraki Park.

A celebration of raki known as Rakokazanemata (raki-making) happens in the middle of August where anyone can keep up of the raki-making process and taste it (locals down it in one gulp but it’s breathtakingly strong) and experience the authentic Cretan way of amusement. Raki is an alcoholic drink being at the heart of Cretan culture which is officially produced across the length and breadth of Crete for domestic or commercial use in October.