Evandale Park on the Gold Coast turned into one big Glendi at this year’s Gold Coast Greekfest on Sunday 10 July.
The Gold Coast played host to an array of Greekness that tantalised taste buds right down to dancing shoes. Helen Raptis, co-chair of the Gold Coast Greekfest, told Neos Kosmos that although the Gold Coast isn’t a metropolitan city, they “still have a lot of different cultural groups and people who long for this sort of thing”. She added that it shows a coming of age for the Gold Coast to be able to hold a large cultural festival like this. “What makes Greekfest so successful is because everyone knows someone who is Greek, they’ve married a Greek, their neighbour is Greek, they’ve been to Greece so they know about Greek hospitality and that’s what they expect at the festival,” Raptis said.
Federal MP Member for Moncrieff Steven Ciobo opened the festival. Honourable guests at the festival included Mayor Ron Clarke of the Gold Coast, Susie Douglas, the councillor for Surfers Paradise, and the Hon. Consul of Greece in Queensland Jim Raptis.
Dancing groups from all over Queensland came to participate in the event plus three groups from the Gold Coast and there was a longest Zorba line competition. Raptis, co-chair of the festival alongside Sandra Voukelatos, said they already have an army of women preparing the food. They have a tonne of octopus, over 10,000 sheets of filo pastry has been used and they expect to sell over 3000 plates of loukoumathes. “There was a grape stomping competition, eating competition and St Anna Greek Orthodox Church will be open throughout the day with a lecture on the history of the Greek Orthodox Church,” said Raptis.
The Gold Coast Greekfest took place on Sunday 10 July at Evandale Park, Bundall Street, Bundall from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm. Entry for adults was $5, children 13 and under free and aged pensioners entry was $3.00.
