Every year, the Boston Athletic Association receives four gold wreaths, cut from olive trees of the city of Marathon, as a symbolic gift from the people of Greece. The olive wreath tradition represents all the indispensable ideals for which the citizens-soldiers fought in Marathon over 2,500 years ago: freedom, individual dignity, and the power of democracy, all of which remain relevant today.
We sat down with Paul Tsitsopoulos, the president of the Alpha Omega Council. The Alpha Omega Council is an organization dedicated to promote Hellenism. Their mission statement is as follows:
Another classic clip from the archives of Antonis Remos & Sakis Rouvas performing live at Foxwoods Casino.
Another classic clip of Thanos Petrelis performing live in concert in Boston.
Another classic clip from the archives of Giannis Ploutarhos performing live at Foxwoods Casino.
Elli Kokkinou performing live in this classic clip from Boston.
Greek / French singer George Perris visited Boston for an amazing performance!
Actor / comedian Angelo Tsarouchas performs live in Boston for a comedy show event.
We welcome Father Alex Orphanos to the Boston Greeks Podcast! Fr. Alex serves as the Presiding Priest of the Saint George Greek Orthodox Church in Lynn, MA. He assumed this role on October 23, 2022. In his first year as the Proistamenos, he has focused on the ministries of the church and has built up new youth, young adult, and faith-based educational ministries. Working with the Parish Council and community leaders, Saint George has seen an increase in stewardship showing that the church is in a time of growth. The future is bright at Saint George.
Quick clip from the Rumor Pre-Thanksgiving Greek night in 2005 with Greekstar performing their To Tzini and Fouda Kalamatiani.
We welcome the amazing Georgia Balafas to the podcast! Georgia is a REALTOR and Associate Broker helping sellers, buyers, investors and developers in real estate transactions. After earning two degrees from Boston University — a B.S. in Communications with a concentration in Advertising and a Master in Multinational Commerce — and gaining a decade of business experience in advertising and marketing, Georgia began working full-time in the real estate industry in 2010.
We welcome Panayiota Asimacos to the podcast! Read her bio below:
Nik Tsoukales founded REALTOP after spending more than 15 years growing multiple sales teams, call centers, and businesses using digital marketing. In his career, he’s been awarded multiple INC. 5000 Awards for fastest-growing private companies in the United States, been responsible for multiple business turnarounds in the financial space resulting in millions of dollars in revenue recovered as well as organically growing multiple companies online dominating organic SEO, Google PPC, and Social Media. Nik and his team of digital marketing experts are responsible for more than 89k actual clients acquired using online marketing and counting with a diverse range of business types including financial services, dental, medical, legal, real estate, and more.
We would like to welcome beverage director extraordinaire - Lou Charbonneau to the podcast!
Join us for a wonderful chat with the amazing Maria Behrakis. Maria is a first generation Greek American community activist focused on education and Greek-American philanthropy. A mother of three children, Maria, along with her husband, Drake, is active with the National Hellenic Society which is dedicated to perpetuating, celebrating and passing on our Hellenic heritage. She is also a member of Leadership 100, a Greek-American service organization committed to preserving Hellenism and Orthodoxy in America. Maria and Drake are active supporters of the Behrakis Family Endowment at Boston College which was founded in 2001 for the advancement of Hellenic Studies and the promotion of travel abroad to Greece.
We talk all things mental health with our esteemed guest Dr. Christoforos Iraklis Giakoumatos in his capacity as private practice practitioner. He is an addiction psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is also the Medical Director at BrightView Massachusetts. Dr Giakoumatos also sees patients in his private practice either virtually or in person in one of his two offices in Boston MA or Hooksett NH.
Evan Turner, sommelier and wine director at Krasi Meze and Wine in Boston’s Back Bay, leads the largest all Greek wine list in the country. He is now leading the way in introducing New England to Greek wine.
Join us for a wonderful interview with a talented group of friends and business partners that are truly making waves in Boston. Demetri Tsolakis, Stefanos Oungrinis, and Brendan Pelley of Xenia Greek Hospitality sit with us to discuss how they came to be, where they are today, and what the future holds for this team that has created and is continually creating a fantastic Greek scene in Boston, and hopefully beyond!
We hang out with restauranteur extraordinaire Spiro Pappadopoulos. Spiro grew up in Andover working in his family's restaurant while attending Andover High School. After attending Boston College, Spiro moved to New York City and dove into the restaurant business for seven years before moving back to Massachusetts.
Join us in learning about the incredible journey of Theia Brands founders Peter & Despina Sarianides. Their goal is to set the bar for a healthier, cleaner lifestyle. Their products are made with fresh, natural ingredients and they believe that their customers deserve a product that they can enjoy and feel good about serving to their families.
We talk all things health and fitness with WBFF Pro competitor Stephania Tsimikas. We learn about her past, her life, her motivations, and how she became a pro athlete in the highly competitive world of strength training. Join us in getting to know Stephania!
We had the pleasure of catching up with the amazing Demetri Tsolakis. For those that don't know, his footprint in Boston began with Committee Ouzeri + Bar and has extended to fast-casual Greco, and, most recently, Krasi Meze & Wine. Except for the fact that each concept is rooted in Greek culture, they are all very distinct from one another, with almost zero menu overlap. If that link to Greek culture forms the fabric of the restaurants, it’s Tsolakis’s deft touch as a restaurateur along with his creativity and his passion for all things Greek that are the threads tying them all together.
We loved chatting with the one and only Eleni Vidalis! Eleni is a Greek-American television host, producer, director, activist, and comedian. She is best known for hosting The Greek Program for 25 years, heading the Federation of Hellenic American Societies of New England, and hosting Boston's Greek Independence Day Parade. We discuss her journey and where she is today, so please join us in spending time with Eleni Vidalis!
We got to catch up with an old friend and a pioneer of the Greek music scene that arose from Boston in the late 90s/early 00s - DJ THRILLA! Thrilla has had an interesting and diverse journey in music and we got to hear all about it on this episode of the Boston Greeks podcast. Join us!
