Mickey Mouse will be dressed in traditional “fustanella” attire, while children will also be given the opportunity to meet mythical strongman Hercules.

Disney’s Kristin Peterson noted, “Having shattered every record known to man—and the gods—Hercules is very excited to train the next generation of Olympians. Our younger guests will be able to lift weights, toss shot puts, shoot arrows, leap distances and take photos with their hero.”

Greek musicians and dancers will entertain visitors with traditional folk dances at the Disney California Adventure Park as well.

Greek celebrity chef, Argiro Barbarigou, and Greek winemaker, Christina Boutari, are set to host a special, separately ticketed culinary event for adults. Traditional dishes accompanied by exceptional Hellenic wines are of course on the menu.

Each day from 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., these two venues will offer special experiences. In the “It’s a small world” Mall you can join in the following festivities: Olympics training with Hercules. atmosphere entertainment by The Citizens of Greece, live performances from Greek musicians and dancers and special Greek food offerings.

In Paradise Gardens you can enjoy Greek wine tasting, live performances from Greek musicians, Kalamatiano line dances, special Greek food offerings and atmosphere entertainment by The Citizens of Greece.

On May 26, you’re invited to join Greek celebrity Chef Argiro Barbarigou and Greek winemaker Christina Boutari for a special dinner at the Golden Vine Winery in Disney California Adventure park.

Reservations and tickets may be purchased online starting March 25. This first-of-its-kind event will entertain both children and adults, and… of course, Mickey Mouse will  be there in his fustanella attire!

The Greek team at SXSW

SXSW 2013 went Greek this year with the sounds of some of GREECE’s top music exponents, including MTV Best Greek Act award winner Stereo Mike, Imam Baildi and Plastic Flowers.

Brothers Lysandros and Orestis Falireas and their eight-piece band called Imam Baildi performed on Friday, March 15th, at the International Day Stage of the Austin Convention Center, while MTV award winner Stereo Mike was a featured artist of the International Hip Hop Night, on March 13th. Plastic Flowers performed on March 15 at The Velveta Room.  All three music acts played in sold out venues.

The event was organized by Criteria Entertainment and supported by Eath Friendly Products and En Lefko Radio. 

It was the first time that SXSW (South by Southwest) Music, Film and Interactive Festival showcased Greek music since its beginning.

Greek Reporter’s Diane Douvry was at SXSW and spoke to the bands about their music, the festival and how the Greek crisis shapes the arts in the country. Watch the interviews and parts of the shows below:

In a one-of-a-kind event, SXSW 2013 audiences had the opportunity to witness the sounds of some of Greece’s leading bands, an international experience opportunity that transcends space and time.

SXSW festival attendees had the unique chance to hear vintage remixes of Greek music from the 1940s, ‘50s and ’60s as the internationally acclaimed young Greek band Imam Baildi brought its music to the festival. They were joined by the first Greek hip hop act to play the music conference, Stereo Mike, a multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and rapper with three albums and many awards under his belt, who also filmed every step of his unprecedented travels from London to Austin, all of which will result in a behind-the-scenes, artist-cut, honest-to-heart and all-around hilarious documentary.

Stereo Mike has an established international reputation as one of the most innovative contemporary artists from Greece, one whose melodies, irresistible hooks and social message transcend musical boundaries. Stereo Mike was officially born with the release of his debut album Satiri Nomades (AMG Records), featuring the track “I Polis”, which garnered Mike his first nomination for Best Hip Hop Video at the 2006 Greek VMAs.

Imam Baildi combines Bouzouki, electro swing, Greek roots, hip hop and mambo, coupled up with big band orchestration and Balkan brass, all resulting in perfectly prepared, massive-sounding music and incomparably explosive performances. Remixing songs by legendary composers and singers from Greece, such as S. Vembo, M. Linda, V. Tsitsanis and M. Hiotis and combining them with new sounds and production and remix techniques to embed them into a contemporary musical context, the band creates a one-of-a-kind, 100% danceable sound that has sold out shows all over the world.

Making the perfect trifecta along with Stereo Mike and Imam Baildi was Plastic Flowers, a lo-fi pop duo that features heavy use of synthesizers and atmospheric sound scapes along with the projection of dreamy visuals to generate an all-encompassing sensory experience for concert attendees.

Greek Reporter was the official Media Sponsor of “Sounds of Greece” at SxSW. 

The documentary was also nominated for the best documentary-award at the Sichuan TV Festival of China, and has participated in major film events in India, Australia, Italy, France, Germany and Austria.

The story line goes this way: in the mountains of Hindu Kush, in Pakistan, among 165 million Muslims, unfolds the unique story of 4,000 Kalasha, an ancient pagan tribe that worships nymphs, gods and fairies. The Kalasha women are strong, lovable and, oddly enough, free.

Athanassios Lerounis, the President of the Greek Volunteers NGO who organizes developmental and educational projects in the region, is kidnapped by the Taliban. His abduction fills the Kalasha women with insecurity and fear. How will they cope with this? The film focuses on the women of the Kalasha tribe, struggling to maintain their own culture in the face of encroaching globalization.

Imam Baildi is the first young Greek band that has managed to bring Greek music from the 40s, 50s and 60s to an audience around the world. Their music is based on remixing songs by legendary composers and singers, as well as combining them with new sounds and production techniques to make them contemporary.

As Criteria Entertainment brings the Sounds of Greece to SXSW for the first time with backing from leading green products company Earth Friendly Products and En Lefko radio, Imam Baildi is one of the acts selected to perform in Austin.

Initially formed by brothers Lysandros and Orestis Falireas, Imam Baildi expanded to include other members over the course of a few years. Since 2007, the band has released two albums that have been very succesful in Greece and received wide critical acclaim in Europe – both albums were in the top 10 on the European World Music Charts in 2009 and 2011.

We spoke to Lysandros about the band’s music as well as their first ever upcoming show in the U.S. at SXSW.

What inspires your music?

It’s really hard to define, but as we work mainly with old tunes, what inspires us is the fact that something composed 50 or more years ago manages to touch us still. Sometimes it’s the lyrics, sometimes it’s a melody or just the sound of these recordings that’s very moving, and we’ve seen it’s not just us, but also all the people who like our music. We’ve grown so accustomed to this way of working that even when we work on our compositions, we regard them as something written by someone else, and us as the guys who have to change it. When we come up with our own ideas for our tracks, we just let them sit for a month or so and then change them into something different just as we would do for a remix.

What can people expect from your performance at SxSW?

They can expect our best! It will be a very danceable show, especially since it’s only 40 minutes. We’ll be playing our finest and most danceable tracks. When making the tracks, we work more as producers and less as a band, meaning we let each track take its own course, and that’s why we incorporate many different styles. This is also true for our live performances. In SXSW, we’ll play several remixes from old Greek tunes, some of them have more hip-hop elements, some latin, some more electro, and also some Balkan music, which is also part of our shows. Our horn players come from Northern Greece, and they were playing these tunes in weddings and fairs ever since they were old enough to hold an instrument. It’s gonna be a band of six – drums, percussion, dj & bass, bouzouki, guitar, sax, 7 clarinette. Our singer, Rena, is infatuated with old-style singing, and our MC was born in Greece but has roots in Santo Domingo so he mixes all the vocal finesse of the Caribbean with the Greek elements. We’re preparing a massive sounding act, no time for relaxing parts in a 40 minute show, with lots of different styles that all have a common flavor, that of the old Greek recordings.

What does it mean for you to be able to perform at the music festival?

It means everything. Not only is it the first time we play in the States, but also probably the largest festival we’ve attended so far. We’ve performed in major European Festivals, such as Roskilde, Sziget or Lowlands, but they all seem miniscule compared to SXSW. It’s really a lifetime chance for us, and the feedback we have so far is very encouraging. Seems like people there are really going to enjoy it.

You have a Kickstarter to help with funding. How important is that for musicians like yourself?

Browsing Kickstarter and seeing all these great projects is great, we knew that already, but having your own project up there is something else! It’s not just about fundraising, but also very much about reaching out to people in a very direct and personal way. Just imagine waking up one morning, checking your email and seeing people you would never have known engaged to what you’re doing. Simply amazing. Also, the project guidelines oblige you to present your work in a very sincere and concise way. We’ve been trying to do it for 5 years now, and it just came out very natural when we made the Kickstarter video. We feel like we managed to say it all in just three minutes.

To get more on Imam Baildi, visit facebook.com/imambaildi, and their Kickstarter page.

Greek Reporter is an official Media Sponsor of “Sounds of Greece” at SxSW. Click HERE to visit our page dedicated to the initiative.

Karavokiros learned the dances while growing up in his small Greek community in Tarpon Springs, Fla. When he moved to Mobile he started passing it along, and hasn’t stopped since then. He teaches dances from all over Greece – the mainland, the smaller islands and Crete.

“Some of the dances are quicker and have a lot of more intricate steps. We’ll dance along with the band. Some are as easy as a 1-2-3-kick.” he said.

Over the years during performances, he’s seen a few wardrobe malfunctions, with sashes and belts going astray. And speaking of occupational hazards, audiences will want to be alert for the “old sponge diver,” or “mihanikos” dance, which tells the touching story of an elderly, infirmed sponge diver who’s remembering the energetic days of his youth.

This dance comes from the island of Kalymnos, off the coast of Turkey near Rhodes, Karavokiros explained. The island produced many of Tarpon Springs’ sponge divers who became famous for their skills.

“He’s got a cane, and he’s very somber and sad, but then the dance picks up and it’s lively and happy, recalling the days of his youth.He’s twirling the cane around – I’m always afraid he’s going to hit somebody – but so far we’ve been lucky.”(source:Al.com)

Hellenic Public Radio-COSMOS FM, sponsored by the Greek American Educational Public Information System(GAEPIS,) as part of celebrating its 25 consecutive years of public service and broadcasting in the New York metropolitan and tri-state areas, will bestow the award in a ceremony on Nov. 2.

On Nov. 4, he will lead a concert at the historic Great Hall at the Cooper Union, in Manhattan. The concert will feature the internationally acclaimed Greek tenor, Mario Frangoulis, a 15-member Orchestral Ensemble as well as an eight-member chorus conducted by the composer and guest singers Vasiliki Lavina and Alexandros Belles. Markopoulos, the three singers, chorus members and Greek musicians, are performing without cost, the organizers said.

The Pheidippides Award, is a creation of the world renowned jeweler Ilias Lalaounis, and given annually to an individual or organization that contributes in promoting and preserving Hellenism on a global scale.

Festival Director James DeMetro told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA):  “Come to celebrate with us the Greek creativity in culture,” noting that, “despite the financial crisis, there are major new productions.”

The festival will start on Saturday Oct. 6 at the Film Museum in Astoria. Some screenings will take place in Manhattan as well. This year’s movies are: Two Men and a Baby, God Loves Caviar, Christmas Tango, Burning Heads, Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City 1900-1922, ALPS, Wasted Youth, City of Children, The Fiend of Athens, Fred Won’t Move Out, Magic Hour, Unfair World and 100.

The principal sponsors are: the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce, the Culture Hellenic-American Union, and the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Foundation.

According to Neighbour Newspapers, the Chairman of the Festival, Sandy Papadopoulos said: “We traditionally have a lot of lines everywhere and this is something we’re trying integrate – a one-stop shop scenario where you would just buy your food and drinks and you wouldn’t have to buy tickets, just pay by credit card or cash go and enjoy the festival”.

Other offerings include the sports tavern where visitors will have the chance to watch all of the football games. They will, also, be able to taste new wines and ouzo. Father Paul Kaplanis said: “The property is kind of bouncing those days and I love seeing the people in our community working together because it takes about 700 to 800 volunteers to do this.” There will also, of course, be plenty of Greek dancing.

On Oct. 8, festival officials will present the award-winning documentary Kisses to the Children from 2011, written and directed by Vassilis Loules who will join the audience to discuss his work. The film follows five Greek-Jewish children saved by Christians in German-occupied Greece during World War II, and will be presented with English subtitles.

On Oct. 4, Filippos Tsitos’ Unfair World will be shown. The Greek Fest is designed to bring the best in Greek film to the world and Chicago’s large Greek-American community. There will also be a Young Ambition Special Presentation, where 20-year-old Kostas Chalasias will show his work to the audience, too. For more information on the Festival, visit www.greekfilmfestchicago.org.