The iconic Darwin GleNTi, which takes place annually in the Northern Territory on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, has been scaled back this year due to supply shortages.
The news has been confirmed to The Greek Herald by Nicholas Poniris, the President of the Greek Orthodox Community of North Australia (GOCNA) which organises the GleNTi.
Mr Poniris says the GleNTi will not go ahead as usual this year, but a Darwin Greek Festival will take place instead on the grounds of the Greek Orthodox School of Darwin in Nightcliff.
This decision was made by the GOCNA committee after suppliers from Greece, who provide quality products such as wine for the GleNTi, confirmed on Monday night they would not be able to meet the demand for the usual two-day extravaganza.
Mr Poniris said GOCNA did not want to go ahead with the GleNTi if they were unable to provide the “quality product” they are known for.
There is no set date for the new Greek Festival yet, with Mr Poniris hinting at either the June 12 – 13 long weekend or earlier that month. There are also negotiations for a three month program of Greek events to align with the Festival.
“It will be a great event. It will be comparable to GleNTi,” Mr Poniris concluded. “We’ve done this before and the Darwin Greek Festival will be second to nothing else.”
