Looking Ahead: What 2021 Holds for the Greek-American Community

The Hollywood Greek Festival, presented by St. George Greek Orthodox Church located at N. th Avenue in Hollywood, will take place from January -. Attendees can partake in a variety of authentic Greek food and desserts, as well as be entertained by live music and dancing. In addition, performances by the community’s award-winning dance group will be present. This once-a-year event is the perfect opportunity to learn to dance, win a grand prize in a raffle, make memories with the children in the Fun Zone, and purchase items from the various vendors. The unique creation of ouzo daiquiris can only be found at this festival.

PhiloThought invites the public to attend its Annual Young Professionals Vasilopita Brunch, a charitable event held on Saturday, January at Skinos Restaurant in Lower Manhattan. Overlooking St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, this event celebrates the New Year with all proceeds being allocated towards PhiloThought’s programming and annual scholarship for financially underprivileged students. Register online by January to be eligible for discounted registration. For more information, please visit: https://bit.ly/GIs. Additionally, PhiloThought invites you to their Newport Winter Glendi Greek Dance taking place in Middletown, Rhode Island.

The UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation cordially invites you to join us on Saturday, January st, at PM, at the UCLA Little Theater in MacGowan Hall in Los Angeles for a Winter Glendi. Our event features live dance performances by the Norwalk Pontian Society and accompanying music from Fotia.Live featuring Iosif Tsentekidis, Nikos Spaniotis, Nikos Savvas, Voula Berdos, and Tony Pentikis as well as Pontiaka featuring Vaggelis Pesiridis and Michael Pesiridis. Admission is $ for Adults and $ for children and under.

We are delighted to present the world premiere of 'Polymnia’, an experimental chamber opera that shares the story of a woman who confronts war and trauma with resilience and reflects on how her experience resonates through generations and communities. Our second performance will take place on Sunday, January nd at PM. This production draws upon pieces of Sappho’s poetry, Kassiane’s hymns, plus four generations of personal family documents and oral history to tell the story of Theodosia Roussos’ great-grandmother Polymnia Athanasiadis Pappas, a young woman whose family was expelled from their village.

Under the auspices of the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles and made possible thanks to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNFand the National Endowment for the Arts, this event will showcase Roussos’ musical score inspired by her Greek Cypriot American background and elements of Byzantine and Greek folk music. Presented in both Greek and English, Polymnia reveals a deeply personal and political experience of diaspora – a reflection of what is lost, retained, and cannot be forgotten in light of the Asia Minor Catastrophe. This production is provided by Plain Wood Productions.

The Pan-Rhodian Society of America Apollon of New York cordially invites all to its annual cutting of the Vasilopita which will take place after the Divine Liturgy and Artoklasia services at the Sacred Patriarchal and Stavropegial Orthodox Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou, located on – rd Avenue in Astoria, on January nd. The services are estimated to run from AM to :AM. For more information please contact us via email at panrhodian.society.ny@gmail.com.

In Summary

In conclusion, Polymnia – with its musical score inspired by Greek Cypriot American culture and influences of Byzantine and Greek folk music – is a captivating reminder of the legacy of the Asia Minor Catastrophe and its lasting effect in modern times. Thanks to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles, this moving performance has been made possible to share with audiences around the world. Through the intricate fusion of music, language, and story-telling, Polymnia is a powerful reminder that what gets lost in diaspora can never truly be forgotten.