Estia Greek Festival Celebrates 30 Years of Community Effort
The 30th Estia Greek Festival has concluded following a highly successful opening weekend in Hobart, once again bringing the Tasmanian Greek community and festival-goers from across the state together to celebrate Greek culture, food and music.
This year’s milestone Street Festival saw record demand, with food orders doubling on the previous year. In response, volunteers worked late into Saturday night and returned early on Sunday morning to prepare additional food, ensuring festival-goers were well fed across the weekend.
Volunteer effort remained at the heart of Estia, as it has for more than three decades. Generations of community members worked tirelessly behind the scenes, many of whom have contributed to the festival year after year, to deliver an event that continues to be a source of pride for the Greek Community of Tasmania.
The Hellenic Dancers brought Federal Street to life on the Sunday, showcasing performances from junior, intermediate and adult dance groups. The performances marked an important opportunity for the dancers to share their work publicly and served as valuable preparation ahead of their appearance at the Antipodes Festival at the end of February.
Festival-goers lined up throughout the weekend for Estia favourites, with gyros, loukoumades, Greek sweets and BBQ octopus proving especially popular. For many, the queues were part of the experience, a chance to catch up, reconnect and share time together.
Greek Community of Tasmania President Manoli Kalimnios said the festival’s success reflected the strength of the community behind it.
“Reaching 30 years is a significant milestone, and one that belongs to our community. Our volunteers worked tirelessly across the weekend, and their commitment is a reminder that Estia continues because people care deeply about keeping it alive.”
Estia Greek Festival Coordinator Alanah Duggan said the weekend captured what makes the festival so special.
“Estia is something the community takes pride in. People come together to make it happen, but just as importantly to reconnect. When you hear ‘see you next Estia’ at the end of the weekend, you know the festival is doing what it’s meant to do.”
As the Street Festival wrapped up, many volunteers farewelled one another with plans already forming for next year, reinforcing Estia’s role as a key annual moment for community connection and shared experience.
The 30th Estia Greek Festival continues with a film screening of Roza of Smyrna on the 6th of Feb, a lecture on Aristotle delivered by Dr Graeme Miles Wed 11 Feb and concludes with a Taverna Night on the 14th of Feb.
For program details and upcoming events, visit www.greekcommunitytas.com.au/estia.
