An Iskele festival is a public cultural celebration held in the Iskele district of North Cyprus, where folk dance, live music, food stalls, and grape harvest traditions fill the town and its villages each summer. The calendar rests on 3 events: the Iskele Municipality Folk Dance Festival, the Mehmetcik Grape Festival, and the Iskele Kite Festival.
This guide covers each festival in turn: what it is, when and where it runs, who organises it, what happens on the ground, whether it suits children, and how to attend. Dates shift slightly year to year, so the festival’s own page or the organising municipality confirms the current schedule before you travel.
- Iskele holds 3 main festivals: the International Folk Dance Festival in late June, the Mehmetcik Grape Festival in early August, and the Kite Festival in spring.
- The Folk Dance Festival is North Cyprus’s largest cultural event, a week-long international gathering; its 28th edition ran 25 June to 1 July 2026.
- The Mehmetcik Grape Festival has run for more than 6 decades, with its 63rd edition held 29 July to 3 August 2025 in Mehmetcik village.
- The Iskele Kite Festival is a free outdoor kite-flying event on Iskele Beach, usually held in spring and often in April.
- All 3 festivals are family-friendly, running children’s activities like kite-making, face painting, and grape-pressing.
What festivals does Iskele hold each year?
Iskele holds 3 main festivals across the warm months: the International Iskele Municipality Folk Dance Festival in late June, the Mehmetcik Grape Festival in early August, and the Iskele Kite Festival in spring. Together they run from roughly April to August.
These iskele events spread across the district rather than sitting in one square. The folk dance festival fills Iskele town centre, the grape festival belongs to Mehmetcik village inland, and the kite festival takes over Iskele Beach on the coast. The table below sets out the timing and venue of each, and if you want the wider picture of what to do in Iskele between festival dates, the area rewards a longer stay.
Info
The 28th Folk Dance Festival ran 25 June to 1 July 2026 in Iskele town centre. Future dates are set for 24 to 30 June 2027 and 29 June to 5 July 2028.
What is the Iskele Municipality Folk Dance Festival?
The Iskele Municipality Folk Dance Festival is North Cyprus’s largest cultural event, a week-long international folk dance gathering organised by Iskele Belediyesi under CIOFF, the world folklore-festival council. The 28th edition ran from 25 June to 1 July 2026 in Iskele town centre.
The festival turns Iskele town centre into a week of street performances, with dance troupes from across the world joining local Cypriot groups. Past editions have brought troupes from India, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Russia, Ukraine, and beyond, and the event presents itself as a message of peace rather than a competition. Alongside the dancing you find folk music, traditional cooking demonstrations, craft exhibitions, and games for children. Future dates already set are 24 to 30 June 2027 and 29 June to 5 July 2028, so this iskele municipality festival is easy to plan a trip around. To understand how the festival fits the town that hosts it, it helps to see Iskele as a whole first.
What is the Mehmetcik Grape Festival?
The Mehmetcik Grape Festival is a grape-harvest celebration held in Mehmetcik village during the first week of August, organised by the Mehmetcik (Buyukkonuk) Municipality rather than Iskele town. It has run for more than 6 decades, and the 63rd edition took place from 29 July to 3 August 2025.
Mehmetcik, known by its older name Galateia, sits about 20 km north-east of Iskele town at the start of the Karpaz Peninsula, and it is one of the district’s main grape-growing villages. The festival fills the village with folk dancing, concerts, symposiums, and stalls of local grape produce. You can taste the wine the area is known for, Zivania (a Cypriot grape pomace brandy), and Sucuk, a traditional grape-must sweet strung like a sausage and dipped in thickened grape juice.
Because the grape festival belongs to a separate municipality, it is distinct from the iskele festival north cyprus calendar of the town itself, even though both fall inside the Iskele district. The 62nd edition opened in 2024, so the timing in early August has stayed consistent for decades.
“The kite festival is the most informal of the 3 Iskele festivals, and the easiest to attend on short notice.”
What is the Iskele Kite Festival?
The Iskele Kite Festival is a free outdoor kite-flying event on Iskele Beach, usually held in spring and often in April, when steady sea breezes and mild weather suit flying. The festival pairs kite competitions with workshops, food stalls, craft markets, and live music along the shore.
The competitions reward the longest flight, the highest altitude, and the most creative design, and hundreds of kites fill the sky over the beach on the day. Workshops teach children and adults how to build and fly their own kites, which makes the event a relaxed family outing as much as a contest. Photographers, families, and casual visitors share the same open stretch of sand, so arrive early for space near the launch area. The kite festival is the most informal of the 3 Iskele festivals, and the easiest to attend on short notice.
Are Iskele’s festivals family-friendly?
Yes, Iskele’s festivals are built around families and children. All 3 events run children’s activities: kite-making workshops at the beach, games and face painting at the folk dance festival, and grape-pressing and folk dancing children can join at the Mehmetcik Grape Festival.
The folk dance festival schedules workshops and interactive performances aimed at younger visitors, and the open layout of all 3 events means pushchairs and small children move around easily. Food stalls sell meze, halloumi, kebabs, and pastries that suit every age, so a family can spend an afternoon without booking anything in advance. Evenings can run late in the August heat, so a midday or early-evening visit usually works best for younger children.
How do you get to and around Iskele for a festival?
You reach Iskele by car or taxi from Ercan Airport, Famagusta, or Kyrenia, since public transport into the district is limited. Iskele town sits on the main Famagusta to Karpaz Peninsula road, and Mehmetcik village lies about 20 km further north-east along the Karpaz road.
Driving gives you the most freedom, because the 3 festivals sit in different parts of the district and the grape festival in particular is an inland village trip. Parking near Iskele town centre fills quickly during the folk dance festival week, so arrive early or park on the edge and walk in. The coast around Iskele also makes a natural base, with Long Beach and the Bafra hotel strip close by, and the fishing village of Bogaz a short drive south for seafood between festival days. If you build a coastal itinerary, Bogaz’s attractions pair well with a festival visit.
The bottom line on visiting an Iskele festival
Plan your trip around one of the 3 anchor dates and the Iskele district rewards a first-time visitor with genuine local culture, not a staged tourist show. Time a summer visit for late June and you catch the 3-festival summer with the international folk dance festival in Iskele town; come in early August for the Mehmetcik Grape Festival and its Zivania and Sucuk; arrive in spring for the kite festival on the beach. Each event is open, low-cost, and welcoming to families. Browse the property and lifestyle around these dates to see why the district draws people back, and confirm the current year’s schedule with the organising municipality before you set off.
FAQ
The Mehmetcik Grape Festival is held in the first week of August in Mehmetcik village, a tradition running for more than 6 decades. The 63rd edition ran from 29 July to 3 August 2025, and the early-August timing has stayed consistent, so plan a visit for that week and confirm exact dates with the municipality.
Yes, the Iskele Municipality Folk Dance Festival is a free, open-air public event. Street performances, folk music, and craft stalls fill Iskele town centre with no ticket needed, though you pay for food, drink, and any crafts you buy. The 28th edition runs from 25 June to 1 July 2026.
The Iskele Kite Festival is the easiest festival for young children, with kite-making workshops, open beach space, and a relaxed daytime atmosphere. The folk dance festival also runs games and face painting, while the grape festival offers folk dancing and grape produce, so all 3 suit families in different ways.
The Mehmetcik Grape Festival takes place in Mehmetcik village, around 20 km north-east of Iskele town at the start of the Karpaz Peninsula. The village, historically called Galateia, is one of the district’s main grape-growing communities and runs the festival through its own municipality, separate from Iskele town.
No, Iskele’s main festivals are free to enter without tickets. The folk dance festival, grape festival, and kite festival are all open public events, so you turn up on the day. You only pay for food, drinks, craft purchases, and your own travel and parking.
Two bodies run them: Iskele Belediyesi organises the folk dance festival, working with CIOFF, the international folklore-festival council, while the Mehmetcik (Buyukkonuk) Municipality runs the grape festival in Mehmetcik village. Local community groups and the municipality support the kite festival on Iskele Beach.