Outside the night air was crisp and cold, but the atmosphere inside was sizzling hot, as Arcadians and friends dined and danced at the Mid-Winter party hosted by the Panarcadian Association of Melbourne & Victoria ‘O Kolokotronis’. Guests enjoyed the amazing belly dancing floorshow and loved the plate smashing performance. Opa!
On a chilly but bright and sunny day on Sunday 7 May 2023, the Panarcadian Association of Melbourne & Victoria hosted the annual Mother’s Day celebration.
Vice President Betty Dimitropoulos warmly welcomed guests and paid tribute to mothers across all generations. Betty acknowledged all the new mums, the second generation Arcadian women who are starting to become grandmothers, and the first generation heroines who left behind their families in Greece but are now rewarded with the joy of seeing great grandchildren.
A delicious lunch was provided by our resident cook Kathy and guests had a lovely afternoon catching up and sharing memories.
Each lady received a complimentary gift pack of “Melvourni” Greek coffee which was donated by George and Thalia Dadamanis.
After a three-year absence due to COVID restrictions, the 25 March 1821 Greek National Day ᾽Παρελαση᾽returned in 2023. It was held on Sunday 19 March at new location, Lakeside Stadium, 33 Aughtie Drive, Albert Park.
As always and as demonstrated by the photos, the Arcadian presence was strong and passionate. The Arcadian contingent who participated in the parade was led by President George and assisted by proud Arcadian Costas Mandylor.
The day was most enjoyed by the youngest members of the group who proudly waved their flags.
It was another year and another successful Antipodes Lonsdale St Festival! The committee was hard at work all weekend, from setting up the double stall early on Saturday morning to packing up and delivering equipment back to our building after midnight on Sunday night.
The stall was very busy with sales of beautifully illustrated books about Greek mythology and different varieties of pasta products – hilopites, trahana, manestra – made locally in Arcadia.
By far the best of all was meeting people from different backgrounds and different locations around Melbourne, country Victoria, interstate, and overseas. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to chat and to buy products to support our Association.
On Sunday 12 February 2023, Arcadians were joined by members of the Greek community to honour the memory of the legendary 19th century hero of the Greek revolution, Theodoros Kolokotronis, who died 180 years ago in 1843.
The memorial service at the church of Axion Estin in Northcote was followed by wreath laying ceremony. Floral tributes were presented by
Emmanuel Kakavelakis, Consul General of Greece in Melbourne and John Dimitropoulos, President of the Panarcadian Association of Melbourne & Victoria. Wreaths were laid also by representatives from the Panarcadian Federation of Australia, Prasino Arkadia Melbourne and Loukas Association ‘Agios Georgios’.
Following the commemoration ceremony, attendees were invited to the building of the Panarcadian Association of Melbourne & Victoria ‘O Kolokotronis’, in North Melbourne. A luncheon was served to guests in the Ballroom and speeches followed from the President of the Federation, the President of the Association and the Consul General.
Together with family and friends, Arcadians from across Melbourne and Victoria enjoyed a wonderful New Year’s Eve celebration in the beautifully restored Ballroom at 570 Victoria Street, North Melbourne. DJ Pantelis set the atmosphere with traditional and contemporary dance music and entertained the revellers with live bouzouki.
Champagne flowed freely as the enthusiastic crowd welcomed in the New Year 2023, and continued partying well into the early hours of the morning.
Each table was served a traditional New Year’s Day ‘Vasilopita’ cake which contains a coin. The recipient of the slice of cake containing the coin is said to have good luck throughout the year, so well done to all who were favoured by fortune this time!
In 2022, the Association joined the Lonsdale Street Antipodes Festival family, with its first stall at the 34th festival, held on the weekend of 22 -23 October.
The stall was a great success:
The highlight was the giant map of Arcadia showing all cities, towns and villages, where visitors excitedly located their hometown. The phrase ‘are you from there too?’ was heard over and over. Young children and teenagers were told by excited parents ‘this is the village where pappou was born’, or ‘this is where yiayia lived with her family before she married’. Many visitors eagerly told stories of places they had visited. One (non-Greek) visitor from Arcadia, NSW was very excited to learn the origins of the name of her place of birth.
On Sunday 18 September 2022, a memorial service and wreath laying ceremony was held at the church of Axion Estin in Northcote, to commemorate those who gave their lives to liberate Tripolitsa (modern day Tripoli) on 23 September 1821. Led by Theodoros Kolokotronis, the great hero of the independence movement, Greek forces besieged and ultimately liberated Tripolitsa which was the administrative centre and stronghold of the Ottoman empire in southern Greece. This was a decisive victory which paved the way for many more successful uprisings of the Greek people over the next decade leading finally to the establishment of the modern Greek state in 1832.
The commemoration was attended by Arcadians, their descendants and supporters. Floral wreaths were laid by Emmanuel Kakavelakis, Consul General of Greece in Melbourne and Irene Giavas, Vice-President of the Panarcadian Association of Melbourne and Victoria, as well representatives from Prasino Arkadia Melbourne, the Hellenic RSL, AHEPA, the Panarcadian Federation of Australia, and the Pan Korinthians Association.
Following the memorial service and wreath laying ceremony at Axion Estin church which was held in the morning, a lunch was held at the Association’s building to celebrate Father’s Day.
Dimitris Alexopoulos, President of the Panarcadian Federation of Victoria welcomed all attendees and spoke about the significance of the liberation of Tripolitsa (modern day Tripoli) and paid homage to those who made the ultimate sacrifice to free their homeland.
The Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Emmanuel Kakavelakis, and the Vice President of the Panarcadian Association, Irene Giavas, gave us their individual reflections on the contribution of fathers.
The afternoon continued with in-house DJ Theo Giannikopoulos entertaining all with traditional Greek music.
On Sunday 22 May, Arcadians and friends of Arcadians came together to celebrate Mother’s Day 2022. This annual event on the Panarcadian Association’s calendar is always a success, and 2022 did not disappoint.
Around 100 guests enjoyed an afternoon of great food by our Arcadian inspired cook Kathy Sakkas. The event included speeches, poem recitals, singing and dancing.
MC and head of the Association’s Public Relations Subcommittee, Emily Kazakos, extended a warm and emotional welcome to all, including Greek Consulate in Melbourne representative, Katerina Doukas, and paid tribute to all mothers and grandmothers, everywhere.
In commemoration of the 100 year anniversary of the Pontian Genocide, a special tribute was made to Pontian mothers with the dedication of the song “Η Μανα εν κρυο νερο”. Many in the audience sang along and many more reached for tissues during this emotional rendition.
The afternoon continued with in-house DJ Theo Giannicopoulos entertaining all with his repertoire of traditional dancing songs, with many guests taking to the stage for a kalamatiano, tsamiko and other traditional dances.
On departure, each lady received a small gift in appreciation for their contribution to the Association and the community in general.
The photos by in-house photographer, Nick Kazakos tell the story.
Thank you to all who contributed to the success of the event, including volunteer attendant waiter superstars Phillip and Alexandros Eustratiou, and their mum Maggie, as well as Nick Mihalopoulos of Pegasus Packaging for supplying the perfect bags for the gifts.
