26 OCTOBER - 1 NOVEMBER
Join us for a week of Greek pride, inspiring events and unforgettable experiences!
Join us for the inaugural Hellenic Week!
Join us as we come together for a memorable week of celebration, embracing and sharing our Greek heritage, honouring our rich cultural traditions, and celebrating the spirit of Hellenism through a vibrant program of inspiring events, meaningful connections, and unforgettable experiences!
Hellenic Dancers Performance
5:30PM, TRITON LOUNGE
FREE ADMISSION
Be transported to the Greek Islands with a vibrant performance of traditional Hellenic dancing. A spectacular start to Hellenic Week that will get everyone up on their feet and in the spirit!
Greek Singer Eleanna Stavrianoudaki
6:30PM, KIVOTOS
BOOKINGS ENCOURAGED
Enjoy beautiful Greek ballads, popular songs, and traditional music for voice, guitar and accordian from Greek born musician, Eleanna Stavrianou as you dine at Kivotos.
OXI DAY!
Greek Cooking Class with Éla Cafe’s Pastry Chef
10AM, AEGEAN ROOM
FREE ADMISSION
Join Yianni and Ela Cafe’s Pastry Chef for a hands-on cooking class and learn to make traditional Koulouria (Greek sesame bread rings). Take home new skills, great recipes and a delicious taste of Greece!
The Hellenic Presidential Guard ‘Evzones’ Program
8AM-6:30PM, ACROSS CANBERRA
FREE ADMISSION
For the first time in history, Canberra and the Hellenic Club will host the Hellenic Presidential Guard, also known as the Evzones, for the very first time.
The Hellenic Presidential Guard will take part in official, commemorative, and community events across Canberra on OXI Day, Wednesday 28 October, providing a rare opportunity for Canberrans to witness the ceremonial precision and cultural significance of the Evzones.
Where you can see them:
8am - Divine Liturgy
St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Kingston
11am - Parliament House Visit
Australian Parliament House Foyer
2:30pm - wreath laying ceremony
Australian War Memorial
6:30pm - March into the Hellenic Club
Watch as the Evzones March into the Hellenic Club Carpark & Entrance, culminating in a special Guard of Honour
Dinner with the Evzones
7:45PM, KIVOTOS
$80 PER PERSON
Be part of a truly special evening as we welcome the iconic Evzones to the Hellenic Club for their First Official visit to Canberra, followed by a delicious three-course dinner in Kivotos.
The dinner will commemorate 28 October National Day (OXI Day) and will be attended by distinguished guests, including the Greek Ambassador, Cyprus High Commissioner, Archbishop Makarios and Bishop Athenagoras making this a memorable and prestigious event for our community.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience Greek heritage, national pride, and tradition up close while enjoying an exceptional evening of dining and celebration.
Greek-Australian Artists on Show
12PM, APOLLO ROOM
FREE ADMISSION
Explore a stunning showcase of works by talented Greek-Australian artists including Canberra-based oil painter Alexa Kalo, painter and printmaker Michael Winters, and still life photographer Maria Gravias.
Meet the Artists
Alexa Kalo
CANBERRA-BASED OIL PAINTER
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Alexa Kalo is a Canberra-based oil painter whose vibrant still lifes celebrate the ritual of the shared table. Drawing on her Greek and Serbian heritage, she paints tablescapes from above-olives, fish, bread and wine set against bold, flat colour and pattern. Her work captures the moment a meal becomes a memory.
Career highlights
2025 Tyger New Ground Award
Solo exhibition: Anthropos (2024)
Solo exhibition: To Share (2026) — Tyger Gallery, Yass
Shown at art fairs in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney
Maria Gravias
STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
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Maria Gravias is an artist focusing principally on the genre of still life photography. She holds a Post Graduate Associate Diploma from the Australian National University’s School of Art and a Bachelor of Secondary Education from the University of Canberra. Maria worked in the visual arts sector throughout her professional life, including senior roles at the National Portrait Gallery and the Australian Government’s arts portfolio. Since retiring, she has devoted her time to forging her photographic art practice. Her work is held in private collections and she continues to exhibit widely.
Career highlights
2021 Mount Avoca People’s Choice Award - inaugural TACIT
Still Life Prize, Melbourne
Solo exhibition: Still Light | Vanitas Reimagined (2022) - Tacit Galleries, Melbourne
Solo exhibition: Lucelence | On light & beauty (2024) - West End Art Space, Melbourne
2026 selected exhibitions: Prelude - Australian Galleries, Melbourne; Omnia Art Prize,
Melbourne; 50 Squared Art Prize — Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne; The Beauty of Still Life - Women in Arts Network
Exhibited in Melbourne and Canberra
Selected exhibitions
Australian Galleries, Melbourne Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
Museum of Australian Photography, Melbourne
Tacit Galleries, Melbourne
West End Art Space, Melbourne
Canberra Museum and Art Gallery Canberra Contemporary Art Space
Grainger Gallery, Canberra
Michael Winters
PAINTER & PRINTMAKER
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Michael Winters was born in Frankston, Victoria in 1943. He attended Art School at Caulfield Institute of Technology from 1959 to 1963, where the History of Art introduced him to the art and culture of Archaic Greece.
A Lifelong Creative Relationship with Greece
In October 1965, Michael travelled to Greece aboard the Greek ship ‘Patris’. A chance meeting with Andonis Tsaloumas led him to visit the island of Leros, beginning a long and deeply significant creative relationship with both Leros and Greece. In 1995, the Municipal Council of Leros made Michael an Honorary Citizen of Leros in recognition of this enduring contribution.
Exhibitions and Recognition
The Australian Embassy held two exhibitions of Michael’s work in Crete, in 1984 and 1991, as part of its contribution to the 43rd and 50th anniversaries of the Second World War Battle of Crete. Ahead of the 50th anniversary, Michael and his family lived in Crete for 18 months. In Australia, his connection with Greece was further acknowledged through a major solo exhibition at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, in 2005, titled Looking Back - Australians on Crete.
Creative Legacy
Michael’s meeting with Andonis Tsaloumas also led to a friendship with the poet Dimitri Tsaloumas. Michael went on to illustrate several of Dimitri’s books of poetry, with paintings of Leros also used on book covers - a unique Greek-Australian creative collaboration. Michael is well known in Canberra as both an artist and a teacher, and has exhibited widely in Europe and Australia.
Sarah Robinson
CANBERRA-BASED PAINTER
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Sarah Robinson is a Canberra-based artist who explores memory and obscurity. Rather than direct observation, her work allows for feeling and intuition to guide the painting just as much. Traces of an unspoken narrative, half-remembered scenes and lingering sensations haunt the paintings. Working with thin, watery paint, Robinson builds her paintings through layers. Forms emerge gradually, while transparent areas reveal the unstable ground beneath. Drips bleed and pool across the canvas, creating a tension between images emerging and dissolving. These works hover in an uncertain state between recognition and abstraction. This indeterminacy invites viewers to bring their own memories and associations into the piece.
In 2025, Robinson was awarded the Tyger New Ground Award at the ANU School of Art & Design Graduate Exhibition. This year she attended Brisbane and Melbourne Affordable Art fair and presented a solo show at Tyger Gallery in September.
Canberra Croatia vs South Melbourne ‘Hellas’ FC
7:30PM KICK-OFF, DEAKIN STADIUM OR ON THE BIG SCREENS AT THE HELLENIC CLUB
Fresh from their historic Australia Cup win, South Melbourne ‘Hellas’ FC will be making their way to Canberra to take on Canberra Croatia in Round 3 of the Australian Championship. Catch the game live at Deakin Stadium, or with us here at the Hellenic Club with all the action on the big screens!
2026 Greek Film Festival Opening Night
7:30PM, PALACE CINEMA (NEW ACTON)
FROM $24 PER PERSON
Don’t miss the first screening of the 2026 Greek Film Festival with the premiere of ‘Best Friends Forever’, a contemporary Greek comedy about friendship and the choices we make when we try to help the people around us, even when that means things might spiral out of control.
Greek Taverna Night
7:30PM, KIVOTOS
BOOKINGS ENCOURAGED
Join us for a lively Taverna Night with vocals from Tony Karrys & Alyssa Wallace, and Bouzouki by Stratos Gianakakis! Enjoy authentic Greek food, great music and a night full of kefi, dancing and good company. Gather your friends and bring your appetite!
2026 Greek Film Festival Matinee Screening
5PM, PALACE ELECTRIC CINEMAS (NEW ACTON)
FROM $24 PER PERSON
Catch the Saturday Matinee Screening of ‘Kapodistrias’ at Palace – a film from internationally acclaimed filmmaker Yannis Smaragdis, KAPODISTRIAS (The Governor) is a sweeping historical epic that brings to life one of Greece’s most defining figures. Bring your ticket back to the Club after the movie to score a complimentary drink!
Greek-Australian Singer-Songwriter Mariah Keramianaki
8PM, TRITON LOUNGE
FREE ADMISSION
Enjoy an intimate evening with Mariah Keramianaki, a talented Greek/Australian singer-songwriter. With heartfelt lyrics and a unique sound, Mariah blends modern acoustic music with her Greek roots for an unforgettable night.
2026 Greek Film Festival Matinee Screening
3PM, PALACE ELECTRIC CINEMAS (NEW ACTON)
FROM $24 PER PERSON
End Hellenic Week on a high with a Sunday Matinee screening of ‘Saint Paisios’ – the story of Saint Paisios, or else known as Arsenios Eznepidis, at Palace.
After being uprooted from Farasa of Cappadocia as refugees, the family of young Arsenios settles in Konitsa, Epirus where he grows up with his mother and grandmother, who inherit to him their deep faith in Christ as well as their love for all people.
What is OXI Day?
Celebrated annually on 28 October, OXI Day marks the anniversary of Greece’s rejection of Mussolini’s ultimatum in 1940. In the early hours of 28 October, Italian Ambassador Emanuele Grazzi presented Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas with demands that Axis forces be allowed to occupy strategic points on Greek soil. Metaxas refused, and the Greek people took to the streets with the word “Όχι” — “No.”
Greece’s subsequent stand on the Albanian front delivered the first Allied land victory against the Axis in Europe and became an enduring symbol of courage, resistance, and national unity.
That stand also forms an important part of the shared military history between Greece and Australia. In 1941, approximately 34,000 Australians and New Zealanders fought alongside Hellenic forces at Vevi, Tempe, Thermopylae/Brallos, and on Crete, while Royal Australian Navy ships served in Greek waters and later operations in the Aegean. Some 1,686 Anzacs from both world wars are laid to rest in Greece.
In 2026, the commemorations mark the 86th anniversary of OXI Day and the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Crete, providing an opportunity to reflect on the shared sacrifice, history, and enduring friendship between Greece and Australia.