The Meaning of Simplicity: The Poet Yannis Ritsos (1909-1990)

A presentation by Dr Alfred Vincent

A celebration in music, readings and narrative for the centenary of one of Greece’s greatest poets.

Opening Fri 27 March
7.00pm

Sat 28 - Sun 29 March
10am - 4pm

Painting from the Greek Islands

Traditional landscape artist, John May, invites participants of the Greek Festival to an exhibition of paintings from his recent tour of the Dodecanese islands.

Greek Fest Darling Harbour

The 27th annual Greek Festival of Sydney will launch with a special two day long celebration at Darling Harbour on the 28th and 29th of March. Come and bring your family for two days music, dancing, fine food and Greek festivities. Entry is free of charge for all.

65th Anniversary of Greek Armed Forces Political Mutiny, April 1944

A presentation by Martyn Brown

In April 1944, thousands of Greek soldiers and sailors throughout the Middle East engaged in political mutiny in support of the left wing Greek resistance movement. Britain and the Greek government-in-exile responded with tactics of starvation and armed force.

The Greek Connection

The Sarantides family called Susannah Place home for 11 years. This special night time tour will explore their story as described by descendants, and as revealed by research as well as the physical traces left behind.

Homer Day

Homer’s Odyssey and It’s Adventures Through History

One of the greatest works of world literature has been Homer’s Odyssey, which has offered constant inspiration to countless artists, scholars and ordinary readers.

Andreas Kalvos: Poet of Revolution (1772-1869)

A talk by Literary Researcher Anastasia Anastasiadis, with readings

An evening of homage to a great poet from Zakynthos, 140 years after his death.

Cavafy: Alexandria and Hellenism

A presentation by Dr Anthony Dracopouios

As a Greek of the Diaspora, Cavafy developed a unique relationship with both Alexandria - the city in which he spent the greatest part of his life - and Hellenism.

School Holidays Program

Ancient Greek Myths

Join us in the Nicholson Museum to discover the gods, goddesses and heroes of Mount Olympus.

Carillon Performance: Greek Day

Celebrate Orthodox Easter Sunday with a program of Greek music performed on the University of Sydney’s historic carillon.

Wed 22 - Fri 24 April &
Wed 29 April - Fri 1 May
11am - 6pm

Sat 25 April &
Sat 2 May
11am - 4pm

Do You Remember ‘Patrida?’

Paintings by Sue Soliman Malidis and Athena Xenakis

The idea of this joint exhibition was conceived as a result of a friendship between two artists, and their deep love for their homeland, their “Patrida”.

Tue 21, Wed 22 April
6.30pm for 7pm

The Greek Festival of Sydney in Conjunction with Marrickville Council Proudly Present

A Window to Tradition

A night of Timeless Greek Music

From the beginning of the 19th century Greece has produced many talented artists from great composers to fabulous musicians; music became an expression and a testimony of the years of slavery, a weapon of opposition against the military dictatorship and a way to express love, death, human fears, that accompanied Greeks’ everyday life.

Diggers And Greeks

Presentation by: Dr Maria Hill
Visiting Fellow at UNSW@ADFA

Introduction and Greek summary by Dr Panayota Nazou- Lecturer in Greek Language, Literature and Culture, Department of Modern Greek Studies, University of Sydney

The talk will examine how Australian soldiers, who came from a predominately Anglo-Celtic background, gained the trust, friendship and support of the Greek people. How did the Greek people react to soldiers from a culture so different from their own?

Greek Odyssey

Presentation by Panayiotis Diamadis

This illustrated lecture will explore the deep roots of the Australian Hellenic community in Sydney in the interwar period.

Humour in the Literature of the Greeks of Australia

Presentation by Professor George Kanarakis

Professor Kanarakis’ lecture will show that just as humour has been an important element in the everyday life of the Greek immigrant in Australia, in the same way it has also been an ever present part of the literary expression of the Greeks in this country.

The Ancient Greek Dinner

Greekalicious’ Maria Benardis, Georges Mediterranean Bar & Grill and the Greek Festival of Sydney team up to take food lovers on an exploration of Ancient Greek cuisine.

Recital

A celebration of Greek Music

Hellen Arestides and her ensemble will once again perform in the beautiful Paddington Uniting Church with a program of Greek, classical and traditional music which will delight and fill your heart with warmth and passion.

Sun 3 May
4.30pm

Dionysios Solomos Awards

The Greek Festival of Sydney brings you our most prestigious event to commend NSW highest ranking Greek Language students in the presence of family, friends and distinguished guests.

Yannis Ritsos 2009 Centenary Year

A presentation by Vasilis Kolovos

Yannis Ritsos, the poet of the Greek people, of peace and of the working class, was persecuted, imprisoned, exiled and tortured more than any of his colleagues by the bourgeoisie of his own country.

Fri 8 - Sun 11 May
11am - 5pm

Greece and Beyond

An exhibition of Greek masters and local artists- Nola Diamantopoulos, Penelope Tsoutas, George Tsoutas.

The Greek Festival of Sydney and Art at Home Gallery are very proud to present the annual “Greek Masters Exhibition”. The exhibition includes great iconic artists who are household names in Greece.

Mikis Theodorakis the Man, the Genius the Legend

Up close and personal video biography

Acclaimed as Greece’s ‘greatest living composer’ Mikis Theodorakis’ life reads like a film script. A child prodigy, Theodorakis taught himself to write songs without access to musical instruments. His is a journey of great proportions: changing the face of Greek music, alongside a backdrop of political turmoil during which he was tortured and thrown into exile.

Culture in Today’s Greece

A presentation by Vasilis Kolovos

Culture, in Greece, as a social asset, its commercialisation, the uncontrolled monopoly character it is acquiring, its orientation as an industry which aims to strike at people’s thinking and aesthetics, influenced by the needs of a globalised market, without any national characteristics.

Maria Yiakoulis & Band

Born in Sydney Australia, Maria’s musical influences are many; but none stronger than the music of her parents’ homeland.

Dance!

Take a journey through time with DANCE! Experience a dance extravaganza showcasing a wide variety of Greek dancing and costumes as well as exploring the evolution and influences Greek dancing has undergone in the Australian performing landscape from the 1960s to the present day.

Aristophanes’ The Birds DVD Screening

A tribute to Karolos Koun and the Greek Art Theatre.

The event presents Aristophanes’ most popular comedy THE BIRDS (441BC) first staged by the Greek Art Theatre in 1959 with the participation of Greek leading artists (Tsarouhis, Hadjidakis, Nikoloudi, Rotas).

Aphrodite’s Island – 14 Years of Excavations

A joint presentation between the Australian Museum and Nicholson Museum for National Archaeology Week.

Craig Barker of Sydney University Museums explores the work conducted by The University of Sydney on the Hellenistic–Roman theatre in Paphos in Cyprus since 1995.

Opening Tue 19 May
5pm - 7.30pm

Wed 20 - Fri 22 May
11am - 6pm

Sat 23 May
11am - 4pm

Maria Sarri

Greece Past and Present

In this rare exhibition Maria brings a collection of her work offering the beauty of Greek landscape and architecture.

The Greek Passion

The film of an opera, in English, by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu, based on the novel Christ recrucified by Nikos Kazantzakis, the author of Zorba; made for Czech Television, featuring soloists from the Welsh National Opera.

Thu 21 - Sat 23 May &
Thu 28 - Sat 30 May
8pm

Sun 24 & Sun 31 May
5pm

Alex and Eve, The Wedding

Fresh off the back of three sold out seasons, this hilarious cross-cultural journey continues as Alex and Eve try to prepare for an Orthodox-Muslim wedding. With neither family giving an inch, strap in for an uproarious car-crash!!!

Eleftheria Arvanitaki

Sydney Opera House and the Greek Festival of Sydney proudly present Eleftheria Arvanitaki

Eleftheria Arvanitaki is Greek music’s shining star and has a musical style uniquely her own. Combining tradition and innovation, she is blessed with a voice that transcends musical boundaries.

Dall’Italia All’Australia

Dall’Italia all’Australia (From Italy to Australia) is the cinematographic record of the voyage of the SS Regina d’Italia (Queen of Italy). In September 1924, this vessel brought 504 migrants from southern Europe to the South Seas.

George Doucas’ Balcano

George Doukas is a favourite of the Australian Greek music scene. His virtuosic guitar and bouzouki playing has mesmerised and excited audiences from intimate venues and tavernas to Greek festivals and larger concerts.