by Dimitrios & Katerina Angelatos
SURREY GREEK FEST 2012
by Dimitrios & Katerina Angelatos
The Greek Orthodox Community of Surrey (Ss. Constantine & Helen Church) held its annual Greek festival from June 8th – June 17th at its premises at 96 Avenue and 132nd Street in Surrey.
The festival
was open from 12 noon until 10 pm on the weekends and from 4 pm until 10
pm on the weekdays.
The
official opening ceremonies took place on the afternoon of Sunday, June 10th.
This was attended by the Maritime Attache and Vice-Consul of Greece,
Antonios Mazis, and the Consul of Cyprus, Tassoula Berggren. Also in
attendance were the Greater Vancouver area priests, Rev. Demetrios
Partsafas of St. George Cathedral(Hellenic Community of Vancouver), Rev.
Dorotheos Tryfonopoulos, retired, Rev. Evangelos Aravantinos of Ss.
Nicholas & Dimitrios Church (Greek Orthodox Community of East
Vancouver), Rev. Costa Ecomomos, assistant priest at St. George Cathedral
and of course the priest of Ss. Constantine & Helen Rev. Kosta Tsiolas.
The community presidents were George Schinidis
of the East Vancouver Communit and Peter P. Kletas of the Hellenic
Community of Vancouver. Councillors Barinder Rasodee and Marvin Hunt
represented the City of Surrey. Representing
the government of BC were MLAs David Hayer (Surrey-Tynhead), Bruce Ralston
(Surrey-Whalley) and Sue Hammell (Surrey-Green Timbers). Also the dance
instructor Eleni Diamantopoulos was among the special attendees.
With
the festival held this early in the season this community over the years
has had some problems with the weather not cooperating. This year it was
hoped that by starting the festival at least a week later than in recent
years there would be a better chance of more pleasant weather. However
this strategy did not help as the first half of June was one of the
coolest on record, with only about five days at normal or above
temperatures.
The
community had prepared for the weather, whether rain or shine by covering
the entire festival area with tents. This kept everyone dry, including all
the performers and the entire seating area
but it was the cool weather that affected attendance the most.
It is usually the weekends that bring in the larger attendance but
this year the last Saturday was a “wash out” as it rained all day.
Overall though, the attendance was an improvement over last year’s
festival which had been the first one at this location. It has taken time
for Greek people to get used to the new location and also for the
surrounding neighbourhood to get involved. Also the parking situation has
kept some people from attending but that is something that the community
will be working on with the City of Surrey to improve for next year.
All
the volunteers should be commended for their persistence and dedication,
not only during the festival but also during its preparation and clean-up
phases. The various cooks did a good job of providing tasty food, the
cashiers and servers served the customers quickly and efficiently and
those clearing tables and taking care of the garbage were also always on
the ball.
Of
course the festival would not be very “festive” without all the
entertainment. A number of
ethnic dance groups were involved although most of the entertainment was
provided by Greek groups. The
other ethnic dance groups included Portuguese Dancers, the Surrey
International Dancers, Portala Tango, Asian Art Bhangra, Diamond Country
Square Dancers, Flaminco and Croatian Dancers. The Diaspora Dancers, based
at the Greek Orthodox Community of Surrey, performed almost daily, some
days even twice a day. Even the youngest dance group, the Fasolakia
performed ten times throughout the festival.
Not only did some of the Diaspora dancers perform on stage but they
also volunteered in the food booth, as cashiers or servers and even
selling raffle tickets. Of the visiting Greek groups the Minotavri Cretan
Dance Group performed on both Sundays of the festival,
Dimitris Dance group performed on the Wednesday evening as well as
on the last Sunday, Alexander the Great Dancers performed on the first
Sunday and the last Friday and the Socrates Greek School
performed on the last Sunday.
The
stage at the festival was the best of any of the various Greek festivals
held over the years in BC. It was so large that it could easily
accommodate a performance by a group of thirty dancers and even more when
it was open to the audience to participate. Also it was at a comfortable
height so that all the action on the stage was visible.
At other festivals the stage has been much smaller and often too
high to see all the dance action. Also in Surrey when no one was
performing on the stage children were welcome to dance and play on it as
long as they had supervision. Dimitrios Spiliotopoulos of Alpha Video provided the music
throughout the ten day festival. Alpha
Video was the original provider of the music during the early years of the
Surrey community festivals and it was good to see Alpha back again.
The
decoration of the stage was also amazing. There were Greek pillars of
various sizes but it was the large Greek mural that really drew the eye.
That was provided by Tony Ziskos of Alpha-Neon Signs. Greek, Canadian and
BC flags were featured on the stage as well as outside and
inside the tents.
The
Diaspora dance group started about four year ago at the instigation of
some of the youth who were interested in learning and preserving their
culture. The teachers are the priest, Rev. Fr. Kosta Tsiolas and one of
the parents, Eleni Diamantopoulou. In the four years the dance group has
grown from about nine members to its present registration of about fifty,
ranging in age from three to adult. Now there are four groups, the
beginner Fasolakia (ages 3-6 yr), the advanced Fasolakia (ages 6-9yr), the
Junior Diaspora (ages 10-14yr) and the Senior Diaspora (teen – adult).
The Fasolakia groups wore Greek costumes and of course were so cute on the
stage. The junior and senior Diaspora dancers are now fundraising to
purchase ethnic costumes as well. As each costume costs at least four
hundred dollars or more the members have a hard task ahead of them. Car
washes and other events raised enough for at least two outfits. At the
opening ceremonies Mr. Katevatis, representing the Kefalonian Society of
BC announced that the society
would donate one thousand dollars for the purchase of costumes and
challenged other societies to match the donation. This donation now allows
for the purchase of at least two more outfits.
The
Emcee for the event was the Presvetera, Nia Tsiolas. She did an excellent
job but made a slight mistake. She stated it was the 21st
annual festival but it is actually the 21st anniversary of the
first one, making this last one the 22nd annual festival. The
first one was held at the end of August in 1991, at the parking lot of a
small mall on King George Hwy, near 72nd Avenue in Surrey.
In attendance at that time were the Mayor of Surrey, Surrey council
members, representatives of the BC and
federal governments as well
as representatives of the Consulate of Greece in Vancouver. Also in
attendance were Rev. Demetrios Partsafas and Rev. Dorotheos Tryfonopoulos
and the monk priests, then Bishop Lazer and Fr. Varlaam (now
retired Heirarchs of the Orthodox Church in America-OCA). The priest and
president of the Greek Community of St. Sophia in Bellingham, Washington
also attended. The second festival was held for two days at the beginning
of September of 1992 at the old Fleetwood Hall, corner of 84th
Avenue and 160 Street where the church services also began in June of that
year. At first the community rented those premises but eventually went on
to buy the property. Over the years the festival dates moved several times
before finally settling for early June and gradually grew to ten days. The
last year the festival was held at that location was in 2010, the same
year that the church community purchased the church building at 96 Avenue
and 132nd Street.
Over
the past years many priests have served the Surrey Community. Rev. John
Contoravdis was the first, coming in June 1991from the USA.
He served for almost five years.
Rev. Dorotheos Tryfonopoulos then
briefly served the community
until the arrival of Archimandrite Nektarios from Greece. Next came
Archimandrite Damaskinos, also from Greece. After him the community was
served by Rev. Ioannis Kaoukakis, a graduate of the Toronto Orthodox
Theological Academy. He
eventually went on to serve the Greek Orthodox Community in Edmonton. The
next priest, the Albanian born Fr. Foti Cici was on loan from the Orthodox
Church in America (OCA) and served the community for about 2 years until
he returned to his previous jurisdiction. The present priest, Fr. Kosta
Tsiolas is also a graduate of the Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy. His ordination to the priesthood took place in Surrey and he
has been the priest for Ss. Constantine & Helen-Greek Orthodox
Community of Surrey and Fraser Valley for about five years.
What
the founders envisioned over twenty years ago is finally starting to
become a reality. The church and community is now firmly established. Many
people from all over the lower mainland, whether members or not, have
contributed and it is through the combined efforts of all that the
community has become what it is today.
Over the years many people have served on the board of directors,
through good times and bad and others supported the community in their own
ways, either through financial or other means.
With the continued involvement of the people of the Fraser Valley,
young and old, the guidance of the priest and hopefully visionary councils
over the years to come the church and community should continue to
prosper.
SURREY CHURCH INSTALLS NEW
ICONISTAST
The latest improvement to the Church of Ss. Constantine & Helen
in Surrey were recently completed thanks to some large donations.
The hand carved Iconistat, the Bishop’s Throne, the Chanters
stand and the candle stand all arrived from Greece in May and were
installed just in time for the annual festival of the Greek Orthodox
Community of Surrey.
Renovations
started right after the purchase of the building.
One of the first improvements was to the basement hall. Then the
grounds were paved and fenced. Next came the installation of new carpet
and pews. Projects in the
works but not yet completed include replacing the existing lights with new
chandeliers, new Icons, a bell tower and making the church more accessible
for those having difficulty managing the high stairs.
Through the generous donations of many people the church and the
grounds have gone through quite a transformation since the purchase just a
little over two years ago. However
many people are still reluctant to attend many of the community events
because of the lack of parking. This of course impacts the potential
growth of the community. It still looks like the best solution for that would be to
buy out the church group next door. In that case it looks like fundraising
efforts will continue for a long time and everyone will have to dig even
deeper into their pocket for the foreseeable future.
With the participation of all the Greeks of the Fraser Valley it is
possible that in years the Surrey community can be an example of what can
be accomplished when people put their minds and efforts into uniting for a
common cause. After all, what we build is not just for us now but more
importantly, for passing on to our children, grandchildren and future
generations.
2012 GREEK DAY ON BROADWAY,
VANCOUVER
On Sunday June 24th over a hundred thousand people partook of the annual street party that is Greek Day on Broadway. Five blocks of West Broadway Avenue, from Macdonald Street to Blenheim Street was closed to traffic from early morning to late at night. The event opened at 11:00 am and closed at 9:00 pm. This Greek festival is presented by the Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC in participation with over thirty sponsors, including the Kitsilano Broadway Business Improvement District and Green Century Enterprises, organics composting and Smithrite Disposal. The theme for this year’s event was “Olive Us Going Green” so all items purchased from the venders were biodegradable. A loud “Opa” goes for the festival organizers for helping to reduce the garbage that large festivals produce.
There were twenty-three vendors selling food including the Hellenic Community of Vancouver, the Greek Orthodox Community of Surrey & Fraser Valley, and the Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC, the Panarcadian society, the Cretan society, the Messinian Association, the Macedonian Association, the Lacons Community Association, AHEPA, Apollo society and the Greek Senior Citizens (East Vancouver). The line-ups at the various booths were greatly reduced from other years. This was not only due to the fact that the number of vendors had been increased but also that each vendor could sell a larger variety of foods, therefore reducing the number of booths anyone had to line up for. The mouth-watering smell of lamb, chicken and souvlaki cooking on the barbecues wafted throughout the streets. Gyros, saganaki, Greek fries, spanakopita and tyropita were just some of the other foods available. And of course one cannot forget the desserts such as baklava, bougatsa, loukemathes and others. The food vendors were not the only ones setting up their booths. Most of the sponsors also had their displays and so did many local merchants or organizations. There were about seventy organizations or businesses participating in the Greek Day. As well many of the businesses along both sides of the street were also open for business.
There
was plenty to keep everyone busy throughout the day.
It had a family friendly and pet friendly atmosphere.
There was a kid’s zone where children could enjoy for free the
bouncy castle, face painting, balloons, making crafts or other free
activities. Artisans could be
seen at work. The Athens Agora market place featured treasures and
trinkets from far off lands or from local artisans.
The Boutari Wines cooking tent featured cooking demonstrations with
local Greek chefs. The
Hellenic Experience tent with its Olive Iliad sample bar featured free
food samples so of course that was also a very popular spot.
The main stage featured the various dance performances throughout
the day. The program began
with the dance performances of the Hellenic Community of Vancouver Greek
School , followed by the Socrates Greek School and then the Fasolakia, the
youngest group of the Diaspora Dancers of the Greek Orthodox Community of
Surrey, all before the Welcome ceremonies.
The
Welcome ceremonies featured a “torch relay” by children representing
the Olympics, the Special Olympics and
various cultures of BC and included a symbolic lighting of the
torch. The national anthems
of Greece and Canada were sung by soprano Sofia Antonakos. The
Emcee for the day was Peter Zelis. Guests
on stage included the Premier of BC Christy Clark, the Mayor of Vancouver
Gregor Robertson and most of the Vancouver City Councilors, MLA
Colin Hansen, the Greek Maritime Attaché and Vice-Consul of Greece,
Antonios Mazis, the co-chairs of the Greek Day and Greek Heritage
Committee Peter Capadouca and Nick Panos, the president of the Hellenic
Canadian Congress of BC Michael Christopoulos, the president of the
Hellenic Community of Vancouver Peter P. Kletas, the president of the
Greek Orthodox Community of East Vancouver George Sachinidis,
the Rev. Demetrios Partsafas and
Rev. Costa Economos both
of St. George Cathedral, Rev.
Kosta Tsiolas of Ss. Constantine & Helen(Surrey) and representatives
of some of the sponsors. Premier
Clark, on behalf of the government of BC presented the Hellenic Canadian
Congress of BC, the organizers of the Greek Day with a cheque for $20,000
to help cover the costs of staging the Greek Day on Broadway event for
next year. Mayor Gregor
Robertson spoke on how to him the City of Vancouver, Greece and the Greek
people of Vancouver are forever linked.
He had the honour of representing Vancouver at the official
lighting of the Olympic Torch in Greece for the Vancouver 2010 Winter
Olympic Games.
After
the opening ceremonies there was a continuous stream of dance
performances, dance lessons, and live music on the stage as well as all
the activities at the various vendors.
The day finished with an evening concert and the raffle draw. The
main prize, valued at $2500 was for two
return airfare tickets to Greece via KLM, Delta/Air France.
Second prize, valued at $2000 was for return airfare for two to
London, UK via Air Transit Holidays. The third prize, valued at $1700 was
for a seven day hotel accommodation package for two on Santorini, Greece.
