Around
& about British Columbia
By Katerina & Dimitris
Angelatos
BC
hosts reception for Greek-born Quebec MP
Sophia Leung, CM, MP (Vancouver Kingsway) Parliamentary Secretary
to the Minister of National Revenue hosted a reception on the evening of
March 5 at the Hellenic Community Centre in honour of visiting Eleni
Bakopanos, MP for Ahuntsic, Quebec. Eleni Bakopanos is the Assistant
Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole of the House of Commons.
Invited to the reception were community leaders from the various Greek
organizations as well as leaders from the Chinese communities. Ms.
Bakopanos’s two daughters were along on the trip to British Columbia and
also put in an appearance at the event.
Eleni Bakopanos has spent nearly thirty years in politics. She
started out as a teenager working as a volunteer in a federal election
campaign but then got involved in provincial politics. In 1993, she was
asked to run in the federal riding where she had started her political
career and won that riding. She was the first Greek-born woman to be
elected to the House of Commons. There are now three MPs of Greek descent
sitting on the government side in the House. They have formed a committee
to help lobby on issues important to Greek-Canadians and Greeks abroad,
such as Cyprus and FYROM. There are about seven million Greeks who live
outside of Greece. The three MPs are part of a larger organization of MPs
of Greek descent from other countries. She stated that she hoped that more
Canadians of Greek descent would get involved in all levels of government.
We can not get our values and concerns addressed if we are not
represented. With unity and strong organization a lot can be accomplished.
Ms. Bakopanos has been a dedicated and tireless advocate of issues
including child poverty, youths at risk, as well as domestic and
international human rights. In 1997, she was awarded the highest honour
given to a civilian by the Portuguese government. In 2000, the President
of the Hellenic Republic presented to Ms. Bakopanos the Golden Cross of
The Order of Phoenix. Ms. Bakopanos said it was also a great honour when
she was chosen to go to Greece to sign the bilateral agreement of Justice
on behalf of Canada.
On March 25, Ms. Bakopanos will be leading a delegation of MPs to
Cyprus, to learn the issues there first hand. Cyprus will soon be entering
the EU. Turkey has also applied to enter the EU but has not met the
requirements for membership. Turkey’s record of human rights is a major
drawback. The closure of the Theological schools there is an example of
that.
Ms. Bakopanos is also working on the committee that is attempting
to return the Parthenon marbles to Greece in time for the 2004 Olympics.
While most countries agree that these cultural treasures should be
returned to their homeland, England is reluctant to give them up. Sophia
Leung spoke on the importance on returning cultural artifacts to their
homeland. She said the feelings she experienced when she represented
Canada in a ceremony returning artifacts to China, the land of her
ancestry, were indescribable. It made her proud that Canada returned the
items without having been asked to do so. She hoped that the Parthenon
marbles would also soon be returned to their home. P
Pharos, the
Canadian Hellenic Cultural Society, is well into its 2001-2002 series of
lectures. The lectures are held at the Hellenic Community Centre in
Vancouver, usually on the last Monday of the month from September through
April.
The January 28 lecture was not very well attended as the Vancouver
area had been hit by a large snowfall the day before. Many people thought
the event had been cancelled. However, those that did make it enjoyed an
interesting lecture by Prof. Gwyneth Lewis. She is a lecturer in Classical
Studies at Langara College and president of Pharos. The illustrated
lecture was entitled “Images of Amazons”. She talked about the Greek
fascination with fierce women of distant lands. Her lecture showed the
evolution of images and stories of the Amazons, at the same time revealing
much about the Greeks who loved and fought them.
On February 25, the guest speaker was Professor Peter Toohey,
department head of Greek and Roman Studies at the University of Calgary.
The topic of the evening was “Melancholy and the Ancient Greeks”.
Professor Toohey is a noted authority on classical literature. Depression
or “melancholy” has been around for a long time and by studying
classical Greek literature one can evidence of how it affected even the
lives of ancient Greeks.
There are two more lectures scheduled before the lecture season
ends. The March lecture will be by Professor David Mirhady on Greek law
and in April Dr. Richard Spratley will talk on Mani. Then in the autumn a
new lecture series begins. St. Nicholas Church pays off mortgage
St. Nicholas and St. Dimitrios Church (Greek Orthodox Community of
East Vancouver) celebrated a momentous occasion recently. On Saturday,
March 2, a wine and cheese reception was held in the hall of the church to
celebrate the paying of the mortgage of the church. On hand for the
occasion were a number of past presidents as well as other members and
donors who have worked hard over the years to reach this important
milestone. A moment of silence was observed for all those who have since
passed on but their contributions will not be forgotten.
The history of that church community goes back over 25 years. In
early 1977, a group of people got together with the idea of starting a
second Greek community in the Vancouver area. The group worked on forming
the constitution, signing up members and raising funds. Anastasios Dikaios
became the chairman. The society was accepted under the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese and in 1978 Tom Karras became the first officially elected
president. Father Dorotheos Tryfonopoulos was brought in as parish priest
and church services were started in rented premises. In 1979, under
president Dimitris Exarchopoulos the present property was purchased and
the fundraising began in earnest. All the following presidents Adam
Kasseris, Peter Dalabanis, Dimitris Papafilis, Kostas Rokanas, Peter
Piliotis, Nikos Condilenios, Kathy Douni and the present one, George
Papaspirou, did their share.
The church building was completed mid 1980’s. It has been the
site of many weddings, baptisms, and of course funerals. In March of 1996,
the church was the site of the ordination of the next parish priest,
Father Panagiotis Pavlakos. It was the first time that an ordination of a
Greek Orthodox priest had taken place in Vancouver. Father Panagiotis
(Peter) still serves the parish today.
In 1991, the mortgage was over $500,000. When Father Panagiotis
came in 1996, it was still around $390,000. The Greek Fest, one of the
major fundraisers for the community, was then changed from a three-day
event to ten days. This helped bring in extra funds. There were many stag
parties, dinner dances, marathons, etc. over the years. The Philoptochos
was very actively involved in various fundraisers, and their efforts were
a great help. There were also many other donations, both large and small,
and over the years the mortgage was gradually reduced. The final payment
of about $25,000 was made on March 1.
Recognition should not just be given to the presidents but to all
board members, especially the secretaries, who all worked hard. There were
countless other volunteers and donors who did their share. Also those who
came out in support of the various events should be given credit as well.
Probably most of the Greeks in British Columbia, along with visitors from
other parts of Canada and the US, have contributed in one way or another.
Father Panagiotis reminded everyone that the fundraising has to
continue with full steam. There is still the mortgage on the extra seven
lots that were purchased recently. By the end of March, the mortgage on
that will be about $725,000. He hoped that mortgage would also be paid off
quickly so that the community could then proceed to build a Greek day
school. He hoped that his own children would one day be able to attend
that school.
Rather than coming out in support of Father Panagiotis, one of the
past presidents got up to say that Father Panagiotis was dreaming if he
thought a school would be built. He said that it was too late for such a
school and that only a community centre was needed. Hopefully too many
others do not share his narrow-minded view. While the school may be too
late for the children of the founders of the community, it certainly is
not too late for the grandchildren or even great-grandchildren. After all,
it will be these generations, which will have to carry on the Greek
communities and churches into the future. Greek
restaurants celebrate Greek Independence Day
Not everyone waited until March 25 to celebrate the 181st
anniversary of Greek Independence Day. Two lower mainland restaurants
decided to get a jump on the festivities. They held their own celebration
more than a week in advance.
Cosmos Greek Restaurant in White Rock was one of those. Owners
George and Christina Zambus and Dimitri Theodosakis held a special
“Greek Night” on Saturday, March 16. By 7 p.m., the place was packed,
mostly with Greeks. There was live Greek music and performances by belly
dancers. Music and dancing continued into the wee hours of the morning.
Gorgona Greek Restaurant in Ladner (Delta) also held its
celebrations the same night. Owner Nikos Patsis was celebrating the fourth
anniversary of his restaurant as well as the Greek Independence Day. The
restaurant was packed and went through three sittings. By the second
sitting a number of Greek’s had also arrived and the live entertainment
began. Kostas played bouzouki and along with his band partner provided the
vocals as well. There was also a belly dancer. Some of the young people
there had never seen a belly dancer perform before and really enjoyed her
performance, even getting up to dance with her. Among those attending the
celebrations were the Limenarchis Nicholas Seretis and Greek Bank manager
Stratos Protopappas. By 11 p.m., more Greeks arrived and the party really
got into full swing. Nikos Patsis not only got the dancing going in
earnest but also joined the musicians by playing the hand drum. By 2 a.m.,
the party was still going on.
Hundreds of Greek flags, supplied free by Patrides –
Western Office, were distributed to all the participants at both
restaurants. Other restaurants have also expressed their intent to have
similar parties and have also asked Patrides for support. Perhaps
in the future the various restaurants will also get involved in
celebration of not only Greek Independence Day but also “OXI” day and
other events.
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