The Greek Orthodox Community of Surrey held its 13^th annual festival from May 23^rd to June 1^st. The festival took place at 160^th Street and 84^th Avenue, on the grounds of the community church, St. Constantine & Helen.

The first festival only one day held at the end of August1991 at King George Hwy & 7end Avenue by the newly formed community. The next one was a two day affair, held in September at the Fleetwood Hall on 160 St. & 84^th (the property which the community now owns). Both of these first festivals featured opening ceremonies with a large number of politicians and dignitaries. All the subsequent festivals were also held at the latter location as the community first rented those premises before eventually purchasing the property a few years ago. The festival soon became a three-day affair. Dates of the festivals changed often. For a number of years it was held over the May long weekend. Other dates in May and June were also tried but no matter what days were picked, the festival often usually plagued with rain. The festival finally became a ten-day affair, to increase the possibility of at least a few days of sunny and warm weather. This year probably was one of the best, weather wise.

Many Greek businesses were involved in this year’s festival, offering their support with supplies and advertising. A large number of volunteers worked diligently, not only during the festival but also during the preparation stages and the clean up.

This year the priest, Rev. Ioannis Kaoukakis and the Board decided that it was time that the church remained a church, not be turned into a hall. The president, Pavlos Kaltsidis and the vice-president Christos Michael were instrumental in this decision. Previous years the church had been dismantled during the proceedings and the area used for eating, drinking or food preparations. Many people who attended the festival this year were pleased to see that for the first time the church was open during the festival. Those wishing to enter the church to light candles or to pray could do so. Fr. Ioannis was also busy during the festival giving tours of the church.

The community has come a long way since its beginnings. First it rented premises for Sundays only, and then moved on to full time rental before finally purchasing. Now that the building will no longer be rented out as a dance hall but will remain a church, the community support to build a proper church should increase. Perhaps in a few years we will see a new church and community center, at a new and larger location.

Hellenic Chorus of Vancouver in concert

On the evening of May 22^nd the Hellenic Chorus of Vancouver held a concert at G.F. Strong Auditorium in Vancouver. This was the “farewell” concert for its director, Costas Yannourakos, who conducted the group for several years. Costas Yannourakos and his family will soon be leaving Vancouver. Costas is the husband of the Consul of Greece, Eleni Lianidou. She will soon be assigned to a new posting as her term of office in Vancouver is nearing its end.

The soprano members of the choir are Athina Antonopoulos, Anna Kolia, Vicky Koroneos, Helen Kritharis, Harkilia Liakakos, Zana Mitsala and Litsa Tsolinas. The altos are Anna Avgerinou, Helen Katevatis, Ourania Rutter and Maria Stassinopoulou. The tenors for the group are Paul Michael, Bill Pantazis and Spyros Tsolinas. The bass singers are Harry Katevatis, Stamatis Koreneos and George Pantazis.

Evie Katevatis is the pianist for the group as well as the soloist. While she was performing her solos she was accompanied on the piano by Costas Yannourakos and also by her husband Dan Dittrick playing the dumbek, a type of drum. Duets were also performed during the concert, first by Spyros and Litsa Tsolinas and then by Bill and George Pantazis.

At the end of the concert the director, Costas Yannourakos, was presented with a huge bouquet of flowers. Harry Katevatis, on behave of all the members of the Chorus also presented Mr. Yannourakos with a token of their appreciation, a plaque commemorating his years as director of the group.

Among those in attendance at the concert was the Consul of Greece, Eleni Lianidou who proudly watched her husband not only conduct the choir but also show his talent as a pianist. Also in attendance was the vice-consul of Cyprus, Tasoula Berggren, along with her husband Len. A large number of friends and relatives of the choir members also made it to the show. Sadly, not all the seats in the theatre were filled but those who did attend enjoyed an excellent performance by the Chorus.

The Hellenic Chorus is now in need of a new director. With luck they will find someone to fill that position before the autumn, when practice will again begin in earnest.

Greek members of European Parliament visit Vancouver

Two Greek members of the European Parliament, Konstantinos Hatzidakis (Eurodeputy, Member of the European People’s Party & European Democrats) and Ioannis Koukiadis (Eurodeputy, Member of the Group of European Socialists) arrived in Vancouver recently to take part in a round table discussion organized by the Consulate of Greece, in cooperation with the Institute of European Studies of the University of British Columbia.

The discussion “Shaping an Integral Europe: Members of the European Parliament Debate with Canadians” took place on May 30^th at 2pm at the Liu Center for Global Issues at U.B.C. Chairperson was Frank Unger, Professor of European Studies (UBC). Also on the panel were Canadian M.P. Hedy Fry and the Consul of Greece, Eleni Lianidou. Questions were also fielded from the audience. The discussions took place in English and French only. The afternoon concluded with a wine and cheese reception following the discussion.

Matters discussed included the economy of the EU, admittance of new members into the EU, the role of NATO and the armed forces, relationships between the EU and Canada, the USA, and global. The impact the war in Iraq has on the EU and globally was also discussed.

As Greece now holds the presidency of the European Union the impact all the Greek members have on the development of the policies of the EU becomes more apparent. Both Mr. Hatzidakis and Mr. Koukiadis are serving their fifth term as members of the European Parliament.

Among those in attendance at this gathering were the vice-consul of Cyprus, Tasoula Berggren and the new Harbour Master, Sr. Commander Nikolaos Spanakis. Father Panagiotis Pavlakos of St. Nicholas & St. Dimitrios Church (Greek Orthodox Community of East Vancouver) was also there.

The visiting Greek-EU members were clearly disappointed at the poor turnout. Although there were a large number of chairs set up, only a small portion of them were occupied. Somehow the message that this event was to take place did not get out to the public. Perhaps it was the time of day that was responsible for the poor turnout. This trip was so short for the MPs that they did not get an opportunity to also speak to the Greek public. It would have made good sense to arrange another meeting at the Hellenic Community Centre in Vancouver for that purpose. Hopefully, if such visits are held in the future that can also be arranged.

Open forum on post-war Iraq

An open forum on post-war Iraq was held on Sunday, June 8, 2003 at 2:00 p.m. at the Hellenic Community Centre in Vancouver. It was organized by the BC Ethnocultural Committee-2003. Members of the panel were Prof. Yusef Altinas (Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, UBC), Mr. Aram Azez (Journalist), Prof. Maurice Copithorne (Faculty of Law, UBC), Prof. Noemi Gal-Or, Ph.D. (Dept. of Political Science, Kwantlen University College), Dr. Andre Gerolymatos (Hellenic Studies Chair, History Dept. of SFU) Prof. Ted McWhinney (Q.C.) and Mrs. Jenny Moss (International services, Canadian Red Cross). Mr. Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun columnist was the moderator.

The consequences of the Iraq War for the Middle East and the World were discussed at the forum. Also the issue of humanitarian aid was dealt with. Questions and comments were also welcomed from the audience.

Prof. Ted McWhinney stated that he felt most Canadians now agree that the decision Canada made of not sending troops to join in the war in Iraq was a wise one. Most of the panelist, as well as many in the audience were in agreement that the USA had not presented a valid case for war. Prof. Andre Gerolymatos stressed that the whole region was in a vulnerable and volatile state and if stability is not brought to the region quickly it all could erupt in chaos. However how to bring stability to the area could not be easily answered. The transportation infrastructure needs to be rebuilt and the oil wells brought into production so that the country can support itself. Who would be responsible for establishing the new government and what type of government would that be? The Muslim world does not understand the concept of democracy. Who could they model the new government on? Suggestions were made that perhaps the government of the Kurds or Turkey could be used as models but others were not so sure of that. Canada was also mentioned as a model. Most people agreed that the USA and Britain would have to let other countries into the rebuilding process. The UN should be involved as soon as possible.

A big issue in post-war Iraq is the suffering of the people. Humanitarian aid cannot be distributed effectively unless the region is stabilized. Clean water and food are essential to prevent starvation and disease.

More forums such as this one are planned by the BC Ethnocultural Committee. Organizing members of this group are the Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC, Hellenic Community of Vancouver, Hellenic Studies at SFU, Cypriot Community of BC, Canadian Jewish Congress-Pacific Region, Chinese Cultural Centre, Ethnobusiness Council of BC, Italian Cultural Centre, Kurdish Intellectuals Committee of BC, Serbian Unity Congress and the Turkish Canadian Society.

An odyssey through life – Reflections

By Victoria Pascha

The official launch of this first book of poetry by Victoria Pascha (Visalia Paskalidis) took place on the evening of June 4^th, 2003 at the Alice MacKay Room, Vancouver Public Library in downtown Vancouver. This is the first volume of a series of poetry books that the author is planning. The book is a collection of her insights and reflections on the human journey from birth to death. It contains approximately 90 poems and 60 fables, and is divided into seven sections.

Visalia Paskalidis was born in Euvoia, Greece and her writing reflects her life experiences in Greece as well as those in Canada, her adopted country. Victoria had been writing poetry for many years before becoming a member of the World Poetry-City Poets Series at the Vancouver Public Library four years ago. This is a multi-lingual group whose poetry is presented in the various languages and of course, also in English.

At the book launch party Visalia read excerpts from her book. She read some of her writings in English, others in Greek. As well some of her poetry had been translated into Spanish and Chinese and these were read by other members of the group, those who had also been responsible for the translations.

The program was co-hosted by Ariadne Sawyer and Alejandro Mujica-Olea, co-founders of the City Poets group. As well as the readings from Vasiliki’s book the guests were treated to a number of songs by poet singer members of the group. A demonstration of Greek dancing, by members of Dimitri’s Dance Group of Vancouver followed this. The guests, a large portion of who were Greeks, were also treated to refreshments and fancy pastries during the show. Representing the Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC was Peter Capadouca, past president of the association. Zoi Aligasakis, Greek Consulate staff, was also in attendance.

The evening’s finale was a special presentation of how the Olympic flame is lit each year in Greece, on June 4^th. This event has a double significance to Victoria as it reminds her of both of her homelands. Greece, the country where both she and the Olympic Games were born, will be hosting the Olympic Summer Games in 2004. Canada, her adopted country, has a possibility of hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics if the Vancouver/Whistler bid succeeds.