Wrestling, souvlakia and Greek dancing power Philhellenika Festival Fairfield debut
Source: NEOS KOSMOS
Rain — and even a few early storms — did not stop the inaugural Philhellenika Festival in Fairfield, Melbourne, from going ahead on Sunday, with big crowds turning out to celebrate Greek culture, food, music and dance.
For the most part the weather held, and it proved a good thing, as plenty of Greeks and non-Greeks alike flocked to Gillies Street Carpark behind Station Street shops to enjoy what Fairfield’s Greek community had to offer.
Festival organiser John Ghionis told Neos Kosmos the turnout exceeded expectations.
“Thank you all for coming and making this a success. Doesn’t matter about the weather, we killed it here. Hopefully next year bigger and brighter,” he said.
“But don’t forget, this is just one day, but Fairfield is all year round for the Greeks.”
One of the major crowd-pullers was the wrestling stage, where spectators gathered several rows deep to watch men and women face off in a series of matches.
Among them was Greek Australian Levi Nixon, who took on Italian Australian Anthony Cava.
Before the bell, Cava grabbed the microphone and taunted the crowd, declaring his culture “superior”.
But Nixon, backed by a vocal Greek audience, got the last laugh when he secured the pin and the three-count.
“Wrestling at a festival is always a fun experience. It’s mostly full of people who haven’t witnessed live professional wrestling before so getting to be apart of their first experience and trying to create new fans is an exciting challenge and good learning experience for me too,” Nixon told Neos Kosmos.
“Wrestling in front of a crowd of predominantly Greeks was a lot of fun as well, one thing you can always count on the Greek community for is support and I felt every bit of it today with the crowd that came out for festival.”
Young festivalgoers told Neos Kosmos they were there to enjoy the atmosphere with friends. One boy said they came to:
“Enjoy ourselves. Spend time with our mates, grab a souvlaki, kick back… a very good day.”
His friend added: “It’s grouse, absolutely amazing.”
Near the main stage, two young Greek Australian girls were among those dancing and learning traditional steps. One said she learned from her yiayia and papou, while the other credited her parents and said they also dance with the Cretan Brotherhood.
An older group of men summed up their day simply:
“We came for the food, for the music and to see familiar faces. Hellenism at its best.”
Stalls and small businesses reported a high demand. At the Spitaki stand, one barbeque worker said it had been nonstop.
“Lots of people, haven’t stopped all day,” he said, but added, “Always doing it, I love it.”
At Yiayia’s Glyka, George Samothrakitis described the event as both vibrant and meaningful.
“The festival’s fantastic, the weather’s been average but so many people here today. It’s been brilliant. Lots of people are coming together,” he said.
“Greek dancing, singing, small businesses, large businesses coming together, sharing food, culture, the works. Bringing everyone together as one, sharing what we love — and that’s Greece.”
A stallholder from Themotikos called the event “beautiful” and said that while it was a smaller festival, it was “quite lively”.
The local government was all in support of the festival.
Darebin Deputy Mayor Emily Dimitriadis praised the celebration of community and culture.
“It’s wonderful to have the Greek community get together in a festival like this, it’s so important and we really look forward to having a similar one next year, but much much bigger.”
Darebin Councillor Vasilios Tsalkos welcomed the event and echoed Dimitriadis’ remarks.
As reported by Neos Kosmos ahead of the weekend, the Philhellenika Festival aims to highlight the long-standing Greek presence in Fairfield and further invigorate its cultural footprint in Melbourne’s north-east.
If Sunday’s attendance is any indication, the community is already looking forward to its return.
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The original article: belongs to NEOS KOSMOS .
