By Christina Savopoulos
Melbourne’s 37-degree scorcher didn’t stop Coburg’s Greek community from gathering at the Greek Orthodox Parish of The Presentation of Our Lord on Sunday, February 2, for their annual Coburg Greek Festival.
The festival followed a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Iakovos of Ireland to mark the parish’s feast day. Souvlakia, market stalls and a jumping castle were waiting for Coburg locals outside the church.
In an interview with The Greek Herald on the day, parish priest Father Leonidas Ioannou spoke fondly of local parishioners.
“I think the best thing about our parish isn’t just the festivals and the souvlakia that we sell, it’s the spirit of the people here, a very philanthropic spirit…” Father Leonidas said.
“It’s just amazing to see them now giving back to the community with programs like… rising star, our addiction recovery support group, free mother’s groups, fellowships, youth groups. It’s a beautiful time in our history as a parish now.”
The Coburg Greek Festival brings the community together and creates a space for small Greek businesses to showcase their products.
Young girls Christiana, Victoria and Sophia are from the Philoptochos, raising money for the church by selling bead bracelets they’ve made. Alongside their stall was olive oil sold by Elies Evoo and sourced from Kokkino in Greece, plants and herbs from Niko’s Garden, original crochets, and information on iconography classes.
Connie Tsilfidis from ‘Crochet Creations by Connie’ has held a stall at the festival for the past three years where she sells her beautiful crochets.
“We’re always very happy to participate. The organisers are lovely, the stall holders are lovely and it’s always a pleasure to be here,” Connie told The Greek Herald.
Andrea Patsouris and Mary Gargalionis are students of iconography classes run under the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia’s Northcote district and in conjunction with The Presentation of Our Lord. They were more than happy to share news of the classes.
“We offer the service to Victoria in general, to Melbourne, to people who are interested in iconography. It’s a skill that needs to be developed more,” they said.
Anthony Cianflone MP, State Member for Pascoe Vale, praised the festival as a “wonderful celebration of Greek culture, food, music and festivities,” noting its growth into one of Coburg’s biggest “multicultural community events.”
Attendees of the festival could also buy herbs and plants from Niko’s Garden. Owner Niko Gnafakis shared how his business came to be.
“A lot of this is stuff is from my pappou’s garden and I’ve been preserving it for years. [It’s] stuff he brought from Crete back in the day, so they’re very special, very niche,” Niko said.
With a culinary background, Niko happily recommended herbs and wild greens for those interested in adding a taste of Greece to their cooking.
Regular parishioners at The Presentation of Our Lord, Andreas Lunn and Lauren Harb, spoke positively of the festival.
“It’s great to see all the families and everyone here together,” Lauren said.
Andreas agreed and said, “it’s good to be reminded that we have a community here. I feel like that gets forgotten. When you come here you see everyone and you seem to know everyone as well, it’s awesome.”
President of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM), Bill Papastergiadis, highlighted how the festival “brings all of us together and broadens the perspective on the entire multicultural community towards our faith and our culture.”
Similarly, Peter Khalil, MP for Wills, emphasised how this “important religious festival… brings the community together in faith, but also in sharing a culture.”
Father Leonidas and the parish community have run another successful festival and it’s truly wonderful to see this important community event continue.
*All photos by Christina Savopoulos.
