The City of Monash hosted a free Easter lunch on Sunday 12 April in an attempt to intertwine the newly-arrived Greeks and returning expats with the second and third generation Greek Australians of our extended community.
“We reached out to more than 2,000 people. We need to celebrate that, not try to downgrade it.”
It was a huge success for Melbourne, not just the Municipality of Monash.
Oakleigh’s square and the wider area of Eaton Mall were set up to cater to 2,000 people, offering lamb on the spit and an array of traditional Easter Greek delicacies alongside live performances by Greek music and dance groups.
The suburb of Oakleigh, which is home to a very large Greek Australian population, gave the members of its community a feeling of belonging that united more than 3,000 attendees.
Greek Ambassador Haris Dafaranos, Victorian MP Steve Dimopoulos and federal MPs Anna Burke and Claire O’Neal were also present.
“We anticipated approximately 2,000 people to come through on the day, but it turned out about 3,000 people attended,” Mr Klisaris, the Mayor of Monash tells Neos Kosmos.
“We had enough food for that 2,000 people and there was nothing left at the end.”
“About 1,000 came in the afternoon with their families to see what’s going on and listen to the music. They went dining at the No Name restaurant owned by Mr Tangalakis.
“It was an amazing day,” the mayor adds.
Paul Klisaris strongly believes the members of the community should all be proud of the ethics they showcased on the holiest day of the Greek calendar.
“It is all about sharing the love and coming together,” he says.
“This is what we aimed to do. Unite young men and women, even families, who feel isolated. Bring the Greek diaspora together.
“We had people from all corners of the world come through. There were many members from the Chinese community,” he explains.
The event was set up to the standards of similar social events taking place in many Greek cities, while everything suggests it will become the community’s new tradition.
“We even had some leaders from the Muslim community come through,” Mr Klisaris adds.
“We are living in very difficult times and it is important that leaders not just of political persuasion, but also in terms of religion, come together to show strength in numbers.
“They honestly understood the significance of the day.”
The mayor actually took it upon himself to serve food to the people because he wanted to meet them, get comments in real time and connect with his community on another level.
“I really enjoyed having the chance to meet the people of the Monash community, even from other ethnic groups,” he admits.
“It was essential for me to wish them a good Easter and it made me really happy hearing them reciprocate and wish us a good Easter, too.
“There were a lot of homeless people present as well, which made us all very happy.”
The event was catered for entirely by the mayor’s office.
“We all agreed we didn’t want to tire our volunteers on this day, who do such a great job and decided to serve the people ourselves,” Paul Klisaris stresses.
“I feel I should highlight that it was the first time something of this extent has taken place in Victoria or even in Australia.
“My intention was to bring the Greek Pascha of the plateia to the mall so that older and younger generations can delve into the ethimo, the tradition,” he muses.
However, there have been several negatives comments regarding the cost of the Easter celebrations.
“Some people mentioned that the cost of the event tax-wise was unnecessary, but I strongly disagree,” the mayor says.
“Countless governments have been accused of wasting money on things.
“This was not wasting money. This was money used the way it should be,” he stresses.
According to Mr Klisaris, $75,000 of the mayor’s allocations are to be used throughout the year, $35,000 of which were allocated for the Easter Sunday event.
“I can’t see this as a lot of money when a festival may take up to $150,000,” he insists.
“We reached out to more than 2,000 people. We need to celebrate that, not try to downgrade it.”
As to whether he is planning similar actions and events for the future, the mayor of Monash appears to be very positive.
“For now this was the biggest – in terms of size – action I’ve been meaning to run and I am planning on establishing it.
“I do intend to run smaller events, though, which will help us preserve the diversity and vibrancy of our community,” he adds.
“We need to celebrate our vibrancy and our diversity at every opportunity, because that’s who we are as a nation.”