Philadelphia, PA – Greek Heritage Night launched the fall season for the community last night at the Phillies baseball game. The evening featured three different churches performing and several dignitaries on hand.
After a two-year hiatus, the Greeks of Philadelphia came together under the umbrella of the American Hellenic Institutes’ annual sponsored Greek Heritage Night. The event has been hosted seven times in ten years and was a welcomed event where our community got to be together.
The evening launched with the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church dancers performing in the concession area for strollers who stopped in to enjoy the dancing that was cheered on by fellow Hellenes.
St. Lukes’s youth performed the National Anthem minutes before the Phillies took on the Miami Rays. That was followed by the first ball being tossed out by Her Excellency Alexandra Papadopoulou, Ambassador of Greece to the U.S. She was accompanied by Supreme President of AHEPA, Jimmy Kokotas.
During the 5th inning stretch, the St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Media Pennsylvania dance troupe surprised the audience, adding a twist, dressed not in traditional Greek folk attire but with Phillie’s outfits. They performed the famed Zorba Dance that the crowd welcomed and then cheered on as the Philly Phanatic joined in dressed in traditional folk outfits.