Monday, January 31, 2011

European Museum of the Year Award

The Greek nomination for this year’s European Museum of the Year Award is the Cretan open-air Museum Lychnostatis (Greek for candelabrum).

Operating since July 1992, the museum is dedicated to Cretan folk heritage, focusing on tradition and ethnology, as well as the island’s environment and its products. It further presents the works of local self-taught folk artists. In summer months, the museum organizes special educational activities for children, aiming to familiarize them with the role of tradition and the interrelation between humans and nature.
Located in Hersonissos, one of the principal tourist areas of Crete, and is open throughout the year. The premises feature traditional dwellings, a windmill, an olive press, a distillery, and a traditional café (kafeneion) offering a variety of Cretan products.

One of the primary goals of the museum is to encourage the preservation of the Cretan folk culture and the natural environment.

For more information about the Museum Lychnostatis, visit its website at:
www.lychnostatis.gr

Source: Greek News Agenda and www.Lychnostatis.gr

Friday, January 28, 2011

Leper Colony Turned Tourist Attraction: Spinalonga

The infamous Spinalonga, the Greek islet used as leper colony until 1962, will reopen as a tourist attraction on weekends, following an initiative by the local municipality of Agios Nikolaos on the island of Crete.

Spinalonga (officially called Kalydon) was suddenly risen to prominence after the highly successful dramatization of The Island, Victoria Hislop's best selling novel.

Hislop decided to turn down very lucrative offers by Hollywood producers to turn The Island into a film because she feared that a non-Greek adaptation would be untrue to the book.

The story unravels when a young archaeologist from London decides to unearth her mother’s well-hidden secret in her native Crete. When she arrives in the little village of Plaka opposite Spinalonga, she learns that her family was torn apart by the struggles of war and the stigma of leprosy.

Local authorities stressed that the unexpected popularity of the televised series (which recorded unprecedented viewing figures) also increased the interest of visitors. Opening the island to the public on weekends is expected to boost the local economy.

For more information on the fascinating history of the island, visit:

Source: Greek News Agenda

Greece's First Chocolate Museum


The first Chocolate Museum opens its doors from January 29 to 30, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Ygeias Pavlidi chocolate.

The oldest Greek chocolate factory invites children and adults to follow the famous chocolate bar’s history all the way back to 1861 and enjoy an absolute chocolate experience. The event is taking place under the auspices of the Municipality of Athens.

The museum is located behind the actual Pavlidis chocolate factory and will have exhibits on the history of the company, the chocolate production process, and the specially designed 150th anniversary packaging.

For more information, please visit:

Source: Greek News Agenda

4th Annual Children's and Young Adults' Book Fair




The National Book Centre and the Ministry of Culture are organizing the 4th Children's and Young Adults' Book Fair from January 28 to 31 at the HELEXPO Centre in Maroussi, Greece.

The Fair is a meeting place for all members of the book industry (including authors, publishers, and illustrators), but it is mostly a book feast for kids, with numerous performances, exhibitions, workshops, and seminars specially designed for children, as well as their parents and teachers.

A special corner is reserved for the Centre’s new website for children Mikros Anagnostis (Little Reader).

For more information, visit:

And to visit the National Book Centre's website for children, visit:

Source: Greek News Agenda

Marathon Capital of the World: ATHENS


Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos and President of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) Paco Borao signed yesterday a memorandum of cooperation that moves the AIMS's headquarters to Athens.

The memorandum foresees that AIMS will promote Greece as a global tourism destination during all of the races under its auspices around the world.

Yeroulanos expressed the Ministry’s enthusiasm about the agreement as "the association that represents every marathon race and every marathon runner in the world is locating its seat at the birthplace of the race." This announcement is particularly exciting for Greece because the promotion and publicity from AIMS has the potential to positively affect Greece's tourism industry.

For more information, check out:

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Greek Film Nominated for Academy Award: "Dogtooth"


Yorgos Lanthimos' film Dogtooth was yesterday officially nominated for an Academy Award in the category of best foreign language film. The last time a Greek film was nominated for the Oscars was in 1977. It was Michael Cacoyannis's film Iphigenia.

Culture Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos said in a statement yesterday that the nomination “goes beyond the sphere of cinema, arts, and culture. It concerns an entire country, its people, a new generation of creators who personify a 'Yes, it can be done' attitude in difficult period."

Dogtooth will compete along with Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's film Biutiful, Algeria’s Outside the Law (Rachid Bouchareb), Canada's Incendies (Denis Villeneuve) and Denmark's In a Better World (Susanne Bier).

The Academy Award ceremony will take place on February 27 in Los Angeles.


The plot of Dogtooth centers around a family whose three children are not permitted to leave their house in order to protect them from the dangers of the outside world. Both parents create a life for their children within this home by cutting off all ties with the world beyond their gates.


Below is the link to the official trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFtDzK64-pk


www.greeknewsagenda.gr

Thursday, January 20, 2011

PANORAMA OF GREEK CINEMA: Upcoming Films

The Embassy of Greece, in collaboration with the Greek Film Center and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece is proud to present the Panorama of Greek Cinema series at the Avalon Theater in Washington, D.C. This series, which holds screenings on the first Wednesday of each month at 8:00pm, provides a unique opportunity for D.C. filmgoers to experience the best of Greek cinema.

Embassy of Greece Cultural Counselor Zoe Kosmidou remarks, "the Panorama of Greek Cinema will introduce Washington to extraordinary new and old films, talented and innovative filmmakers, fascinating stories, and interesting points of view from Greece. Film enthusiasts are invited to discover some of the most groundbreaking cinema the Greek film industry has to offer! We are grateful to the Avalon for hosting this new film series and to Ted Pedas for his support."

For more information, visit:

Admission: $11.00 Adults - $8.25 Seniors - $9.00 Students - $8.00 Children (12 and under)

February 2, 2011 - 8:00PM
Hard Goodbyes: My Father
(Dyskoloi apohairetismoi: O babas mou)
Elias is a 10 year old boy living in Athens with his family in 1969 and has an interest in Jules Verne’s stories and in astronomy. His father, with whom Elias has a strong relationship, is a travelling salesman and his absence affects the whole family. On the eve of his departure for a long business trip he promises his son that he’ll be back in time to watch the moon landing on TV together, but he is killed in a car accident. While Elias’ mother and his elder brother deal with the loss in their own way, Elias refuses to accept his father’s death. He creates an imaginary world, in which his father is alive. He shares fictitious stories with his friends, he sends letters to his grandmother on behalf of his father and he dreams of places like he did with him. Elias’ mother and his godfather, who do everything to bring him back to reality, take him to a summer house. On the night of the moon landing Elias meets his father in his own way and comes to terms with his loss. He shares fictitious stories with his friends, he sends letters to his grandmother on behalf of his father and he dreams of places like he did with him. Elias’ mother and his godfather, who do everything to bring him back to reality, take him to a summer house. On the night of the moon landing Elias meets his father in his own way and comes to terms with his loss.

Directed by Penny Panayotopoulou - Not Rated - 113 Min. - in Greek with English subtitles


March 2, 2011 - 8:00PM
The Four Seasons of the Law
(I earini synaxis ton agrofylakon)

This film takes place at a small village at the greek island of Chios, sometime around 1960. When the local field watchman dies, the agronomist must assign a new field watchman to be responsible for this village. We watch as four different people take this job and fail one after the other…

Directed by Dimos Avdeliodis - Not Rated - 178 Min. - in Greek with English subtitles


April 6, 2011 - 8:00PM
Quiet Days of August
(Isyhes meres tou Augoustou)

The figure of a woman at a lighted window, two glances in the empty compartment of the subway, the voice of an unknown man on the telephone, trigger off a human relationship. Three stories about life in Athens in August that are linked by loneliness, the need for human contact and the full moon.

Directed by Pantelis Voulgaris - Not Rated - 108 Min. - in Greek & French with English subtitles

Thursday, January 13, 2011

First Greece-U.S. Academic Meeting in Washington, D.C.

The Embassy of Greece in Washington D.C. is organizing the first meeting of the newly-formed Academic Advisory Council (AAC), consisting of eminent Greek-Americans in key leadership positions at American universities (Presidents, Rectors, Deans), with Rectors from universities in Greece.

The meeting will take place this coming weekend (January 15-16) at Georgetown University and will provide a forum for a productive exchange of views, experiences and good practices, in a joint effort to seek practical ways of establishing effective cooperation, partnership building and enhancing the university experience on both sides of the Atlantic.

A year ago, the Greek Ambassador to the U.S., Mr. Vassilis Kaskarelis, took the initiative to form the Academic Advisory Committee, aiming at a comprehensive, systematic and coordinated effort to expand cooperation of the academia in the U.S. with academic institutions in Greece.

Among the distinguished speakers will be the Honorable Andrew Natsios and Dr. Peter McPherson, President of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (A۰P۰L۰U), USA’s oldest higher education association comprised of public research universities, land-grant institutions, and state university systems. A۰P۰L۰U member campuses enroll more than 3.5 million undergraduate and 1.1 million graduate students, employ more than 645,000 faculty members, and conduct nearly two-thirds of all academic research, totaling more than $34 billion annually.

This event is being organized by the Embassy of Greece, hosted by Georgetown University and sponsored by the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation and Georgetown University.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Hellenic Society Prometheas Lecture: "Messenger" to Orbit Mercury


The Hellenic Society Prometheas invites you to a lecture by Dr. Stamatios M. Krimigis, State Department Head Emeritus at Johns Hopkins University and Principal Investigator on several NASA spacecraft; also, member of the Academy of Athens. The topic of Dr. Krimigis' lecture will be "Messenger" to Orbit Mercury: the Technological Challenge.
Friday, January 4, 2011 at 8:00pm
St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Founders Hall
7701 Bradley Boulevard, Bethesda MD 20817

Planetary exploration with robotic spacecraft began in 1962 with Mariner 2 and continues to this day, with missions such as Voyager and Cassini-Huygens. Exploring Mercury, however, has been a challenge until now because the solar intensity there is 11 times as much as at Earth. The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft was launched in August 2004 with the aim of orbiting the closest planet to the Sun, and will be inserted into orbit on March 18, 2011. Designing and operating a spacecraft for such an environment has proved a major technological challenge, and is illustrative of robotic space exploration. The mission implementation took place in the Space Department of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The science objectives and the technology development for their implementation will be described, and the findings from the three flybys of Mercury during the past two years will be presented and discussed.

The lecture will be followed by a light reception.

For more information, visit the website of the Hellenic Society Prometheas at www.prometheas.org.