Canberra’s Greek community will showcase its rich culture and diversity this Sunday in the 18th annual Greek Glendi street party at the 2016 National Multicultural Festival.
The ‘Glendi’, meaning ‘festival’ in Greek, will celebrate Canberra’s proud Greek cultural heritage with traditional food stalls, all-day dance and music performances and crowd engagement activities, including a plate smashing competition and a honey puff eating competition. Chief Minister Andrew Barr MP will officially open the annual Garema Place celebration at noon on Sunday.
The Hellenic Club is once again a major sponsor of the event, providing support through a generous $13,000 funding donation, as well as equipment, transport, and prizes for fundraising activities carried out throughout the course of the day.
Event organiser Georgia Alexandrou, Vice Chair of the 2016 Greek Glendi Committee and president of the Cyprus Community of Canberra, said one of the Multicultural Festival’s most famous and well-loved events wouldn’t be possible without the support of the Hellenic Club.
“The Greek community is relatively small here in the ACT in comparison to the rest of the country, so the Greek Glendi is a wonderful opportunity to share our culture and customs with the broader Canberra community,” Ms Alexandrou said.
“We feel very fortunate and proud to have such wonderful support from the biggest Greek club in the Australia – it’s really like our second home.’
“The Hellenic Club allows us to host functions and Greek dance classes to prepare for this annual showcase, and we’re just one of many organisations benefiting from this support,” she said.
ClubsACT Chief Executive, Gwyn Rees, said the proud, 18 year old Canberran tradition of the street party, which has always operated an entirely volunteer run event, is the epitome of the ACT clubs’ community spirit.
“In a city with such a strong foundation of multiculturalism, ACT clubs play an essential role in fostering cultural diversity, by providing generous financial and in-kind support, as well as venues for cultural groups to meet and socialise,” said Mr Rees.
“The Hellenic Club is just one example of the wonderful not-for-profit community clubs playing a vital role in the social and economic fabric of Canberra, by ploughing revenue back into the community.’
“Together, ACT clubs have provided more than $150 million in community contributions to over 1100 organisations, including more than fifty cultural and religious organisations, in the past decade. We are proud to continue this tradition with Sunday’s exciting event.” Mr Rees concluded.