Crete Locals

3rd Little Hands Festival returns to Heraklion on September 12-13, with free entry

· By CreteLocals Editorial Team
3rd Little Hands Festival returns to Heraklion on September 12-13, with free entry

The 3rd Little Hands Festival, a family-oriented event dedicated to infant and child nutrition, returns to Heraklion on September 12 and 13, 2026, organizers announced. The festival will take place at the Nea Alikarnassou Indoor Gymnasium (2 Aorakia), with free admission for all visitors.

The event will run from 10:00 to 13:30 and again from 16:00 to 21:30 on both days. Organizers said the previous two editions of the festival drew a combined total of more than 8,500 visitors, and this year’s program has been expanded for children, parents and caregivers.

Workshops and sports activities

According to the program released by organizers, activities will include cooking, gardening and environmental education workshops, as well as robotics, theatrical play and physical play sessions for different age groups. A range of sports activities is also planned, including karate, cheerleading, rhythmic and artistic gymnastics, parkour and chess.

Some activities will be open to the public without registration, while other workshops will require pre-registration due to limited capacity, with sign-ups opening on August 29, organizers said. The festival will also feature talks by professionals from various fields on topics related to child nutrition, health, development and family wellbeing.

The Region of Crete’s Mobile Dental Unit will again be present at the festival, offering free preventive dental checks for young visitors, according to the announcement.

Blood drive and charity activities

On Sunday, September 13, from 10:00 to 13:30, the volunteer nonprofit group “Parea tis Agapis” will hold a blood donation drive during the festival to support children and families treated at PAGNI hospital’s Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Clinic, organizers said.

The children’s charity “The Smile of the Child” will also take part, running a school supplies fundraising fair and collecting food and essential items for the families it supports.

Music and entertainment

The program includes a Cretan music night on Saturday featuring performer Vasilis Skoulas, followed by a children’s entertainment night on Sunday with performer Kyria Sintore. The children’s superhero character “Almighty Brokoman” is also scheduled to appear at the festival, as in previous years.

The festival is held under the auspices of the Hellenic Association of Dietitians-Nutritionists and organized by Little Hands Festival, in cooperation with the Primary Education Teachers’ Association “Domenikos Theotokopoulos,” the Theatrical Play Association, and Heraklion Sports Development S.A. (ANATHI). It is supported by the Region of Crete and the Regional Development Fund of Crete, with Keller Williams Cretan Properties listed as the event’s main sponsor.

Further information about the festival is available on the event’s official website, littlehandsfestival.gr. Readers can find more upcoming events in Crete on the site’s events listings, while families looking for additional activities on the island can browse experiences in Crete. Another Heraklion-area celebration, the Malevizi Festival, opened earlier this month in nearby Gazi with a free three-day program.

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