This year’s Antipodes Festival in the center of Melbourne is undoubtedly one of the largest and best-organised festivals ever held.
Dozens of artists and bands, numerous stalls offering everything, a large crowd, and good weather. Everyone enjoyed the first day and evening concert.
You can get a first taste here from the photos below, take by Con Deves.
Until our full report tomorrow, the words of the President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, Bill Papastergiadis OAM perfectly encapsulate the sentiment:
“This festival symbolises for me the simple pleasures that bring life to our existence: celebration with friends, coming together as one, the warm embrace of reconnecting with those around us, and the smiles that light up our faces when we recall the sounds, smells, and tastes of distant lands.”
“The Greek words ‘kefi’ and ‘glendi’ immediately come to mind when we experience this festival. Likewise, Melbourne and our beautiful state are united by our ‘kefi’ and ‘glendi’,” Mr Papastergiadis continued.
“This festival transcends our Greek community; it speaks to all Australians. It unites us, and this unity is most evident in the contributions from all sectors of our society to make this event possible: government – City of Melbourne and State; civic – sponsors and individuals like Andreas Andrianopoulos; community – as this is largely funded by our organization, the GCM.”
“This collaboration, these contributions, make this event what it is. And each of you leaves your mark in this historic Greek corner of our beautiful city, beneath our 15-storey cultural center. So, when you leave today, we hope that the warmth and joy of this festival remain with you. And if you leave with just two new Greek words, let them be ‘kefi’ and ‘glendi’.”
