The annual Greek Paniyiri, held May 24 and 25 at Musgrave Park, Brisbane attracted more than 60,000 people who had the chance to get to know the Greek culture and tradition.
The visitors tasted the traditional Greek dishes sold by the 30 kiosks that took part in the festival and admired Greek dance groups while several recognized musical groups showed their skills performing live and presented music from the islands and mainland of Greece to the audience.
The Greek community center hosted photography exhibitions, cooking demonstrations by renowned chefs, screening of Greek films, lectures (mainly in English) on Greece and its culture, as well as an exhibition of Byzantine books and holy vessels.
This year’s Paniyiri festival was crowned with success and one of the main reasons was the sunny weather. “It’s just a gloriously summer day and people have flocked in early,” stated Paniyiri organizing committee chairman, Chris Kanozis.
According to Kanozis another key to success is that the festival isn’t just addressing Greek Australians. “Our focus is on the people of south-east Queensland, not just the Greek community, and I think that’s why we’ve been so successful,” he said.