Zorba Dancing Our Honeypuffs Off!

Yassou!  We were so excited to be getting our Greek on again this year for Brisbane’s famous Paniyiri Greek Festival at Musgrave Park!  Michaela was all primmed with the big Effie hair, and Jennifer had been practicing her plate smashing skills before she left home!  Opa!  Over four decades Paniyiri has grown to become Queensland’s signature celebration of all things Greek and the state’s largest cultural festival as well as the country’s longest running Greek festival.  There is always so much happening, and such a fun atmosphere as everyone gets into the spirit of the Greek culture.  Thankfully the Greek weather gods were kind, and it was beautiful sunshine on both days despite the very wet forecast that Stevie Jacobs had given us only a few days before.

There were so many highlights over the jam-packed 2-day event including “Greek Dancing with The Stars” with the fabulous Ada Nicodemou & Penny McNamee from Home Away, our own Bianca Dye from 97.3 also hitting the dance floor, along with Aaron & Daniella from House Rules, and judged by the stunning Sheppard girls, Amy & Emma. The fabulous line up also included Plate Smashing Competitions with 97.3FM’s Terry Hanse and 4KQ’s Laurel, Gary & Mark! Other stars included our own Channel 7 News Presenters Sharyn Ghidella & Bill McDonald, along with some celebrity chefs. This year also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Hellenic Dancers with an amazing performance of 100 hellenic dancers!  There were over 30 food stalls showcasing  food secrets from all corners of Greece, and more fun competitions like Grape Stomping, Olive and Honey Puff Eating Competitions, Spaghetti Eating and then Zorba-Til-You-Drop! 

Channel 7 had an amazing Studio 7 set up of mini-sets where you could get your photos taken as if you were onset Home & Away with Alfie, and also have meet & greets with all the stars!   This year we really enjoyed strolling into the new Greek Village – The Plateia.  It brought back memories for Jennifer when she used to work & cruise around the Greek Islands all the time and think we could easily be tempted for another cruise back there very soon.  Opa!