By Christina Savopoulos
La Trobe University Greek Society (LUGS) hosted their first paniyiri on Sunday, March 16 where they welcomed La Trobe students and the general public to the university grounds.
Although the paniyiri was originally planned for the university’s amphitheatre, Melbourne’s rainy weather led the committee to move the event indoors. Despite the change, the new indoor space was still filled with kefi.
The evening featured live music from the ever-growing band Dio Patrides, as well as performances by the Florina Aristotelis Dance Group, Cretan Brotherhood Dance Group and the GCM Dance Group. There were also stalls from small Greek businesses, and of course the paniyiri included the staple food we expect to see at all Greek events: the souvlaki.
Martha Stamatopoulos, a 20-year-old attendee, shared her thoughts on the event: “It was a great initiative from the LUGS committee. It’s a shame that the rain affected it, and we couldn’t do it outside. But it was still great to see all the dancers and stalls and the great first initiative we haven’t seen before.”
The paniyiri was organised by LUGS co-presidents Angelica Spiliopoulos-Angsiting and Eleni Lykopandis. The presidents spent the evening interacting with attendees, and creating a night of dance, music and laughter.
Angelica spoke fondly of their paniyiri and their attempt to start a new tradition, saying, “we wanted to try something fresh.”
Eleni added, “It’s the ‘first [paniyiri] of hopefully very many.”
The event brought together people of all ages, and Eleni said, “we’re really glad that LUGS could hold this event for people of all ages, despite the fact that we are a university club… I think it really shows the leadership that the whole committee put behind it.”
Hosting an event in a university space which also unites Melbourne’s Greek community has the potential to reshape how university clubs engage with the wider public for future events.
The support from local stall holders was also apparent. Thematikos’ co-owner Con Pan was in attendance, sharing his new line of perfumes inspired by Greek mythology.
Con said, “For us I think it’s really important to give back to community… It’s a hard task running any sort of event, so I think if you’re there to help and support others doing that, I think that’s a good thing.”
The dance performances brought dances from all regions of Greece to the La Trobe campus. Epiphany Kiriakidis from Florina Aristotelis Dance Group reflected, “we always see our community events on the streets or in other places… [so] it’s really great to see the community get together on the La Trobe campus.”
Paniyiria were common for Greek university clubs in decades past and LUGS has successfully re-started the tradition and have connected Melbourne’s Greek community with Greek culture in a new setting. This breath of fresh air will be sure to inspire other Greek Australian youth to follow suit.
*All photos copyright The Greek Herald / Christina Savopoulos
