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Canberra Today 15°/19° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Greeks promise a smashing time on Sunday

 

2014-Glendi-LoukoumathesCanberra’s Greek community will celebrate its culture and diversity with the 18th annual Greek Glendi street party at the National Multicultural Festival on Sunday.

The “Glendi”, meaning “festival” in Greek, will feature traditional food stalls, all-day dance and music performances and crowd-engagement activities, including a plate-smashing competition and a honey puff eating competition. Chief Minister Andrew Barr will open the annual Garema Place celebration at noon.

Vice-chair of the 2016 Greek Glendi Committee, Georgia Alexandrou, said one of the Multicultural Festival’s best known and loved events wouldn’t be possible without the support of the Hellenic Club, which has chipped in $13,000 in cash as well as equipment, transport and prizes for fundraising activities carried out throughout the course of the day.

“The Greek community is relatively small here in the ACT in comparison to the rest of the country, so the Greek Glendi is a wonderful opportunity to share our culture and customs with the broader Canberra community,” Ms Alexandrou said.

ClubsACT chief executive, Gwyn Rees, said the tradition of the street party, which has always operated an entirely volunteer run event, is the epitome of the ACT clubs’ community spirit.

“In a city with such a strong foundation of multiculturalism, ACT clubs play an essential role in fostering cultural diversity, by providing generous financial and in-kind support, as well as venues for cultural groups to meet and socialise,” said Mr Rees.

“The Hellenic Club is just one example of the wonderful not-for-profit community clubs playing a vital role in the social and economic fabric of Canberra, by ploughing revenue back into the community.

“Together, ACT clubs have provided more than $150 million in community contributions to over 1100 organisations, including more than 50 cultural and religious organisations, in the past decade.”

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