FOLK DANCE FESTIVAL IN GREECE

by Elaine Pepares

Going to Greece is an experience, but being there for the Folk Dance Festival was an adventure. Unexpectedly, I received a call the early part of July from Peter Preovolos asking if I was available to travel to Greece representing FDF interests. Who could pass up an opportunity such as this?

Yet somehow the dates did not work with my schedule and so I surmised someone else had been sent in my place. Then on August 1st I received a call again, informing me I would be leaving for Greece on August 18th and returning on the 26th. At the time the purpose was unclear,. I felt as if I was on a secret mission without any idea of what was to come.

At last August 18th arrived, and I was on my way to L.A. to catch a plane to Greece.My traveling companion as we settled in for the long trip was Peter Preovolos. Luckily for us, we had a four hour lay-over in Amsterdam. We decided to go exploring the city after an hour long wait in the airport. Amsterdam is a fascinating city. Unfortunately, by this time we had very little time to look around. We decided to take a short walk down the main street from the terminal.

We suddenly realized that would not make our plane to Thessaloniki. Rushing back to the train station, we boarded the express to the airport. Arriving at our destination, we began to run. Running from the train terminal through customs, down the corridors of the airport, and at last arriving at our gate. Not seeing any passengers, our hearts sinking, we spoke to the ticket attendant. He said, "Not to worry. But by the way, Mr. Preovolos, we have lost one of your bags". Luckily, it was Olympic Airlines and we realized "Greek Time" has some advantages, as we boarded the plane for our destination.

After a short flight and much adventure, we arrived in Thessaloniki, the first stop on the whirlwind tour. With a good night¹s rest, we were off with His Grace to meet Chryssa Arapaglou from ERT TV. While in her office, we had a chance meeting with George Melikis, a man of many talents. We spoke about the FDF, and in our conversation he mentioned a trip he had taken to Australia to teach music to the Greek communities there. We decided to meet later in the day.

Since Chryssa had arranged a meeting for us with the Governor of Macedonia, we made our way to his office. His Grace spoke with the Governor about the Folk Dance Festival. We asked his help in making the connection from Greece with the Greek Diaspora in America. The Governor listened and suggested that Chryssa take us to meet the Mayor of Thessaloniki.

Again, we were on the move. We headed to the press conference arranged to begin the annual European Industrial Conference, a week of festivity in Thessaloniki. Prior to the press conference, we all had the opportunity to speak with the mayor. We asked his help as we had the governor. He invited us to join the group at the conference and tell all of Thessaloniki of our endeavor. What a successful first day!

So, on our first day we had met not only the Governor, but made the TV news and the had a TV interview.

As we left Thessaloniki, I didn¹t see how anything could top our stay in Greece. Of course, I was wrong. We arrived in Iraklion later that day for a short rest. His Grace wanted to show us his village, Avgeniki, and some of Crete. We had the opportunity to talk to His Grace¹s mom, witness a church consecration and see some of the most interesting ruins of the Minoan civilization.

Two days later, we were off to Athens for our visit with the Minister of Culture. Since getting to Crete was so easy, our departure was not. Waiting at the airport for almost five hours, we were the lucky recipients of the last two seats on the last plane out for that day. Let¹s just say, if we didn¹t get those seats, we might still be in Crete now!

Monday morning, seven days after the trip had begun, we were meeting with the Minister of Culture. We were also met by Rena Loutrakis, who made the introductions. Our conversation was much like the one with the Governor. After the minister heard about our program he asked what we would like from Greece. It was suggested that FDF be involved in creating a dance program of study for directors to take place in Greece for about one months time. The Minister was intrigued by the idea and asked us to put together a portfolio about our organization.

With my mission accomplished, I was ready to return home. As I reflect back upon this trip I realize what a wonderful experience it was. Before leaving the Minister of Culture¹s office we agreed that we would produce a complete portfolio on the FDF program and our vision of a Folk Art educational program to be housed in Greece.

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