******Paniyiri Greek Festival 2015******

BRISBANE QUEENSLAND

Rock Royalty, A Surfing Great, Kitchen Whizes, Magicians and TV Stars – all set to Go Greek at Paniyiri 2015
Layne Beachley and Kirk Pengilly join the lineup at Paniyiri
Seven time World Champion surfer Layne Beachley, along with her rocker husband Kirk Pengilly of INXS are leading the celebrity charge this year to GO GREEK during the famous Paniyiri Greek Festival in Brisbane over May 23 and 24M

They will be joined by Home & Away stars George Mason and Bonnie Sveen, as well as My Kitchen Rules 2015 contestants Annie and Lloyd and Christopher Wayne one half of the famous Naked Magicians, and a number of other famous faces set to appear at the much loved festival.

Paniyiri is Queensland’s signature celebration of all things Greek and the state’s largest cultural festival as well as the country’s longest running Greek festival – an admirable success story for the celebration that started in 1976 when a group of passionate Greek Australians wanted to share their cultural traditions with Brisbane. Fast forward to 2015, and this kaleidoscopic cultural explosion is now legendary with over 60,000 Greeks and honorary Greeks flocking to Musgrave Park, South Brisbane every year for the annual Paniyiri Greek Festival.

The Paniyiri Main Stage in Musgrave Park will host over 20 hours of entertainment including the return of Greek Dancing with the Stars featuring special celebrity guests and judges, the famous ZORBA-THON, Grape Stomping, Olive and Honey Puff Eating Competitions, Hellenic Dancing, and the return of The Best Greek Coffee Barista Competition.

o More than 30 food stalls will showcase the tastes, recipes and secrets of food from all corners of Greece.
o On the main stage, famous Greek dances, the Zorba, Sirto, Kalamatiano and Sousta will be performed to music played on traditional Greek instruments including the bouzouki, tarabuka, lira and laouto.
o The Greek Club will be a hive of activity with the popular traditional Greek Cooking Program featuring Queensland’s culinary greats.
o Cultural films will be screened right next door and the Greek Orthodox Church will conduct tours to the beautiful sounds of the Byzantine Choir.
o Stars from 97.3FM and Radio 4KQ will take part in activities all weekend, and will broadcast live.
o One of the most famous parts of Paniyiri is the food – since it began, Paniyiri has served up more than four million Honey Puffs; 320,000 coffees; almost 20 tonnes of Haloumi; 3.75million souvlakia and 600,000 dolmades!
o This year festival goers are expected to down some 300,000 Honey Puffs, more than 100,000 Souvlakia, almost 12,000 Dolmades, 18,000 coffees, 1,600 kilograms of grilled Haloumi, 10,000 Shiftalies (Greek Cypriot sausage), 1,000 kilograms of calamari and another 1,000 kilograms of baby octopus!

Tickets: $10 Adults (13+), $3 all Pensioners, Children FREE. Tickets online at www.paniyiri.com

For further information, imagery or interviews, please contact Kath Rose & Associates on 07 3357 9054 or mobile 0416 291 493 or email

[email protected].

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