BOSTON, MA – Greek News USA
The Hellenic Society of Maine celebrated the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Sister City relationship between Portland Maine and Mytilene on the island of Lesvos in Greece.
The event was held on September 21 at the University of Southern Maine (USM) Portland campus where Greek- Americans from all over Maine, together with the Mayor of Portland, Kate Snyder and the USM President, Jacqueline Edmondson, enjoyed a great evening of Greek music and culture.
Symeon Tegos, Consul General of Greece in Boston was in attendance thanking the members of the Hellenic Society of Maine along with President Mary Snell and the Executive Board for their efforts to promote Hellenism in New England.
Pianist Anastasia Antonacos, a faculty member in the Osher School of Music at USM, performed a musical interlude as part of the festivities.
The purpose of a Sister City is to promote world peace, international cooperation, and citizen diplomacy by establishing close and continuous ties between two world communities that already have several strong connections and much in common.
According to the Portland municipality’s webpage, plans are underway for an event in Mytilene this coming May or June, 2024. It will mark when a Portland delegation went to Mytilene in June of 2004 to sign reciprocal Sister City resolutions there. As part of those celebrations, pianist Annie Antonacos will also perform a concert in the Mytilene Public Theater. She gave a concert there 20 years ago as part of Portland’s gift to Mytilene.
