Thymios Partales and his Greek-American Super Band will perform at their first New Orleans Greek Festival on Memorial Day weekend. The band has two albums’ worth of originals and keeps up with the top hits in Greece, and it also has a handle on folk music. Since it sometimes performs at Greek weddings, the band knows all sorts of regional folk songs and dances. That comes in handy when festivalgoers make requests, Partales says.
Partales’ band will perform all three days of Greek Fest, May 26-28, on the outdoor stage at the Hellenic Cultural Center along Bayou St. John at Allen Toussaint Boulevard. The festival also brings a host of Greek food, a market, kids’ games and more.
Partales is based in San Antonio, and when he’s not performing with the band, he sings at Greek night clubs around Texas. Keyboardist Kostas Papahatzis lives in New York. Percussionist Panagiotis Papahatzis lives in Greece and is the lead writer for the band’s original music. He also has his own studio there, where the band recorded its albums. Tasos Kopulos plays the bouzouki, which looks like a guitar with a long, thin neck. Kostas Triantafillou plays clarinet.
At the festival, the band will play a mix of tunes, from originals and contemporary Greek hits to classics familiar to wider audiences like “Zorba the Greek” and “Never on Sunday.” There’s plenty to dance to, and newcomers can join in and learn Greek dances including the kalamatiano, tsamiko and syrto, in which participants link hands and dance in a chain or circle, or the more belly dancing-like tsifteteli.
During breaks by the full band, Partales will DJ sets of popular music.
There’s also much more traditional music in the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral. During the festival, visitors can take tours of the church and hear a short talk on the history of the church and community. There also will be demonstrations of Byzantine chants led by John Michael Boyer, who recently published a lesson book on the sacred music of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Boyer also is the associate music director of Portland, Oregon’s Cappella Romana, which performs sacred choral music, including Byzantine chanting. Boyer moved to New Orleans to become Holy Trinity’s music director, and he is rebuilding the church’s music programs after the disruption of the pandemic.
At the fest, the church’s Hellenic Dancers don traditional folk outfits and perform traditional dances, both inside the Hellenic Center and outdoors.
The festival also has a wide array of food offerings, from the Greek market to prepared foods. Highlights include roasted lamb, souvlaki, spanakopita, stuffed grape leaves and more. New this year are booths offering karpouzosalata (watermelon and feta salad), kolokithopita (zucchini and feta pie) and melitzanosalata, an eggplant dip. There also is a pastry counter with an extensive selection of baklava, karidopita and ravani cakes, and cookies including koulourakia, kourabiedes, stuffed finikia and more.
For drinks, there are booths for Greek Mythos beer, Greek wines, spirits including mastiha liqueur and ouzo, and mango, pomegranate, strawberry, watermelon and ouzo daiquiris.
Dubbed the Athenian Playground, the kids’ area features games, craft activities, face painting, a clown with balloon animals and snowballs.
The festival also holds a 5K run/walk on Saturday. Festival hours are 5-11 p.m. Friday, May 26; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, May 27; and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, May 28. Admission is $10, and children under 12 get in free.
Source: Nola
