Cultural festivals have increasingly emerged as strategic mechanisms for safeguarding and promoting cultural heritage, while simultaneously contributing to local development and destination attractiveness (Dourosa et al., 2024). By transforming heritage sites and culturally significant landscapes into dynamic spaces of participation and collective experience, festivals enable meaningful engagement of audiences. Within the broader framework of cultural tourism and place-based development, festivals can strengthen heritage awareness, reinforce community cohesion, and enhance the visibility of destinations in increasingly competitive tourism markets (Dourosa et al., 2024; Getz, 2008; Richards & Palmer, 2010; Smith & Richards, 2013; Timothy & Boyd, 2006;). The particular study examines the role of local government organizations in the planning, management, and promotion of cultural festivals as factors for cultural heritage valorization. The research focuses on the “Cycle of Culture” Festival organized by the Municipality of Minoa Pediada in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. We use a quantitative research design, collecting data with the help of structured questionnaires directed to festival participants and analyzed to assess perceptions regarding cultural heritage promotion, destination image enhancement, and organizational effectiveness. The findings indicate that the festival contributes significantly to increasing public awareness of local cultural heritage, strengthening the cultural identity of the region, and enhancing its
tourism appeal. At the same time, the study recognizes challenges related to organizational coordination, stakeholder engagement, and the development of integrated communication and marketing strategies. The study contributes to the literature on cultural heritage management and festival studies, providing empirical evidence from a local-government-led cultural initiative in Greece. It further proposes a framework for improving the organizational and communication
dimensions of cultural festivals, offering practical implications for policymakers, cultural managers, and local authorities.

JEL Classification: Z11, L83, M10