The corner of Saint Roch and Outremont was the place to party last month in Parc Ex
Hundreds of people in a mood to party gathered in the centre of Parc Extension on the weekend of August 15 to 17 to talk, eat, dance and soak up the Hellenic ambience at the annual Montreal Greek Festival.
Held around the same time as the Greek Orthodox Church’s Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, the last day, Sunday, was the culminating celebration of all things Greek.
Four days of fun
It all took place at the intersection of Saint Roch and Outremont streets where hundreds of people of all ages – many of them Hellenic teens – formed circles and danced until late into the night. More than 20,000 attended the festival.
This was the first year newly-elected Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal president Basile Angelopoulos presided over the festivities.
“This is truly the beginning of a new era at the HCGM,” said Angelopoulos, a longtime Laval resident, who was elected in June. While he grew up in Laval, his parents lived in Parc Extension for a number of years after first arriving from Greece.
A continuing tradition
“Welcome to all our friends and thank you for being here to share this wonderful occasion, a tradition that continues and one that we will ensure will continue in the future,” he told the gathering prior to the beginning of a performance by Greek folk dancers.
Although she represents a Laval constituency, Vimy Liberal MP Annie Koutrakis spent an important part of her youth in Parc Extension. Before moving to Chomedey at age 17 with her parents, she attended Barclay School in Parc Ex and has fond memories of playing in the parks and on the streets of the area.
A ‘homecoming’ for some
“The Montreal Greek Festival is like a homecoming for me every year,” she said in an interview with Nouvelles Parc Extension, reflecting a view held by many Greek Montrealers from all over the region who regard Parc Extension, with its many Greek Orthodox churches, as the spiritual centre of the Montreal Greek community.
A highlight of the evening on Sunday August 17 was the presentation by Chomedey Liberal MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier of a National Assembly Medal to longtime Parc Extension city councillor Mary Deros in recognition of Deros’s many years of public service. Although she now lives in Laval, Lakhoyan Olivier grew up in Parc Extension.
