The Greek Festival 2009 will take place on June 19, 20, 21 2009, at the Hellenic Community Centre. Please watch our website for regular updates.

Festivals have been a religious and cultural tradition of Greek society since Ancient times. Primarily held to honor or receive favour from the gods or to celebrate the changing of the seasons, this ancient rite was characterized by music, dance, athletic competitions, wine, and of course, food. It was an excuse for the entire community to join and celebrate the ideals of family, friend-ship and philoxenia – generosity towards strangers. The most famous of the ancient festivals was the Olympic Games.

For the two weeks during which the Games were held, wars were put on hold and enemies came together to compete honorably and to celebrate their common gods and goddesses. Once the games were over, soldiers returned to the battlefield. This pause is a testament to the power of friendship and celebration. Today, festivals continue in this spirit of generosity, education and sharing.

And so we bring you our Annual Greek Festival – an opportunity to share our Hellenic culture with our fellow Calgarians. And when something works, why change it? So, this festival, too, is about music, dance, wine and food. But it’s also about coming together as friends, having a good time, and saying, “Efharisto” (Thank you) to Calgarians for enabling us to continue supporting youth projects, the development of our Community, and many charitable organizations within Calgary. And who knows? Maybe somewhere along the line, the gods will smile down on us too!

Click here to see location map.

You can get right to the Festival Grounds by taking bus #17