Let’s Go Greek Festival draws tens of thousands to Parramatta

3 days ago 13

The yearly Let’s Go Greek Festival goes from strength to strength. Tens of thousands of people, young and old, turned up for the signature lawsuit successful Parramatta, the bosom of Western Sydney.

The Parramatta festival, organised by the Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of St John the Forerunner, held its 11th variation connected Sunday 21 September with an all-day solemnisation of Western Sydney’s longstanting Hellenism invading George Street.

A panigiri successful the astir authentic consciousness was a feast for the senses. The aroma of charcoaling meat, the abundance of Greek sweets, the galore assemblage stalls and participants, melded with the euphony and creation signifier its centre stage. Dance groups and musicians provided non-stop amusement culminating with the headliner Greek fashionable euphony icon, Giannis Ploutarhos and his girl Katerina.

The Greek singers capped disconnected what was a full-on Greek delight that saw spectators of each ages and each taste backgrounds turn up passim the day.

Nektaria Elafros, a volunteer who has worked astatine the lawsuit since its very archetypal edition, noted her pridefulness successful each the radical who assistance to marque the festival such a successful staple of the taste calendar.

“I’m arrogant of each the volunteers due to the fact that without them the festival would not beryllium what it is…Greeks judge successful filotimo and the festival embraces that,” Elafros told Neos Kosmos.

She expressed that the warm reception of the galore antithetic communities lone adds to the event.

“It is very bully to spot them travel in. They are unfastened to our civilization and we are unfastened to welcoming them and learning astir their cultures arsenic well,” Elafros said.

Their connections person been strengthened implicit the years done collaborations with the Indian assemblage and the Chinese community.

George Reppas, a volunteer for the past 8 years, remarked that the lawsuit has lone expanded implicit the years, successful terms of section participation, attendees and the stalls, and the involvement from the wider assemblage is the cherry connected top.

“It really makes us truly arrogant arsenic a Greek assemblage successful the Parramatta region, and the Western suburbs much broadly, that we are attracting such a immense assemblage from divers walks of beingness to travel and enactment successful this festival that is so important to us,” Reppas said.

Speaking to the multigenerational involvement successful the event, Reppas expressed that it is seen connected each levels of the festival.

“The information is we person got respective generations of Greeks working here. I person got my parent here, my children progressive and that is multiplied by each the families that are portion of this parish.”

George Giakoumakis, 1 of the galore younger radical working astatine the event, considered the festival arsenic an important tool successful maintaining the culture.

“It is bully to support the civilization going and support it alive, support the connection going, adjacent supporting these small businesses is simply a beauteous thing. We are very arrogant to beryllium doing what we are doing,” helium said.

He remarked the value of the younger people’s participation, saying “you person got to transportation it connected to the young kids and teach them the values and traditions”.

Jake (Γιάννης) Harris, 1 of the galore young radical who came passim the day, stressed his tendency the festival continues connected and expands adjacent further.

“It makes maine very blessed that the traditions of the homeland stay live successful Australia…I want to spot it support increasing and going. Hopefully, when our procreation has kids too, then it will beryllium passed connected to them arsenic well,” helium said.

“I think everyone should larn the language, the dancing…keep it each going.”

The authoritative programme took spot successful the day with galore authoritative guests speaking to people the occasion, among which were Archbishop Makarios, Consul General of Greece successful Sydney Georgios Skemperis, NSW Minister Steve Kamper (representing the NSW Premier Chris Minns), NSW Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure (representing the NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman).

Also successful attendance was the Federal Member for Parramatta Andrew Charlton, State Member for Parramatta Donna Davis, Mayor of Parramatta Council Martin Zaitar, Kosmas Demetriou, President of the Local Parish and Community, on with a fig of different state and section representatives and members from assemblage organisations.