In Patras, on Saturday and Sunday, October 19 and 20, the heart and soul of Pontic Hellenism will beat, bringing to life and presenting its rich cultural and historical heritage.
Thousands of Pontians from all over Greece will be in the Achaean capital for the 18th Panhellenic Festival of Pontic Dances organized by the Panpontian Federation of Greece, in collaboration with the Municipality of Patreon and supporters the Region of Western Greece and the Regional Union of Municipalities, at the closed National Gymnasium “Dimitris Tofalos” » and they will present Pontic dances while on Sunday morning, in Georgiou Square, dances will be presented and traditional Pontic dishes will be offered to those who attend.
The Mayor of Patreon, Kostas Peletidis, the President of Pampontia spoke today (15/10) during a press conference, at the Town Hall, about this very important event that incorporates the history, culture and customs of Pontic Hellenism. of the Federation, Giorgos Varithimiadis, the Deputy Regional Governor for Tourism, Panagiotis Sakellaropoulos, the President of the PED and Mayor of Kalavryton, Thanasis Papadopoulos and the Deputy Mayor of Culture and Planning, Apostolis Aggelis.
The Mayor of Patreon noted in his presentation: “Patra is welcoming the 18th Pambodian Reunion, being a city of refugees as well. In 1923, it welcomed 7,500 refugees, having a permanent population of only about 52,000 inhabitants. For me this antimony also has sentimental value because of my Pontic origin. We then did not leave our places of our own free will. They uprooted us! We’ve become interchangeable! And the fact that 101 years after the genocide the Pontians exist and preserve their culture, their customs and traditions, their historical memory, this shows that they did not bend our souls. With the active participation of all of us, let us not allow other peoples to be uprooted. No one should become a refugee so that others can profit. We invite everyone to “Tofalos” on Saturday at 6.30 pm and to Georgiou Square on Sunday morning. At the same time, during these days, an exhibition about the refugee and Pontic Hellenism will be open in Psila Alonia”.
Earlier, the President of the Pontic Federation of Greece, in his inauguration, thanked the Municipality of Patreon for the warm welcome and referred personally to the “fiery patriot”, as he described, Kostas Peletidis, but also to the Region and the PED and emphasized that with the 18th Panhellenic Festival of Pontic Dances the Federation and its 470 primary unions want to leave their mark on Patras.
Mr. Varithimiadis referred to the genocide of the Pontians, but also to the Turkish invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus by the Turks, noting that this year’s Festival sends the message “I do not forget”.
The Vice-Regional Governor of Tourism emphasized that there is good cooperation with the First-level Self-Government and its transformation into extroverted actions. As for the Festival, it is being held in Patras with Kostas Peletidis as the protagonist, and for the first time thousands of dancers from all over Greece will come and pass on the values of the Pontic heritage, peace and friendship. “This is how we highlight our conference tourism and our culinary wealth,” said Mr. Sakellaropoulos.
For his part, the President of PED and Mayor of Kalavryta noted about the Festival that it is a great event. The Pontic culture will be presented in Patras. The PED unanimously embraced this proposal and it is a special honor for us that Mayor Kostas Peletidis, who has Pontic origin, is on the PED Council, said Th. Papadopoulos and continued: “Memories of the Pontic genocide will be transferred to us, historical memories. We had many more holocausts in Greece in the period ’40-’45. The Germans still owe our country reparations and we claim them. The Kalavritas suffered their own Holocaust. It is a special honor for us to participate in the event”.
Present at the interview was the president of the “Pharos Pontion” Association. Dimitris Antoniadis, representative of the Pan-Asian Association of Patras, representative of the Pontian Association of Apideona Achaia and representative of the Dance Department of the Municipality of Patras.
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#heart #Pontic #Hellenism #beats #Patras #October
