‘Opa!’ Greek Night cultural celebration returns for Mother’s Day in May  – DiscoverMooseJaw.com


The third annual edition of Greek Night, presented by the Downtown Moose Jaw Association (DMJA) and Tourism Moose Jaw, is back with plate smashing, ‘Opa!’s, the Daughters of Penelope dance troupe, and more. 

Greek Night is scheduled for May 11, 2024 at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, and Winmar Property Restoration returns as title sponsor.  

John Iatridis, owner of The Mad Greek Restaurant in downtown Moose Jaw and a DMJA board member, said that since the first Greek Night in 2022, the event has become well known — and highly anticipated. 

“We’re going to announce Monday, I think, that the tickets are up for sale, and before we even get to that point … I can tell you that we’ve already sold the majority of our sponsorships, and we’ve already had people messaging to reserve tables, and to say how happy they are with the event, and how much they enjoy the event.” 

Ticket prices are the same as last year at $125 per person, or $900 to reserve a full table for eight. Funds raised by Greek Night go to support tourism initiatives in the city. 

Buying a ticket also includes entry into a draw to win a $7,500 ‘Trip to Greece’ travel voucher, up from $5,000 in 2023. 

Attendees at last year’s edition were treated to the music of internationally known Canadian/Greek band Arkadia out of Regina, entertaining emcee-ing by former CBC Saskatchewan news anchor Costa Maragos, and the Wonderland Party Band (also out of Regina) provided the jams for the end-of-night dancing. 

Iatridis confirmed that Arkadia and Wonderland will return in 2024. Also returning are the Daughters of Penelope traditional Greek dance group; their energetic, Greek-themed, professional-caliber performances have been a highlight of Greek Night from the start.. 

Iatridis said the dinner and dessert menu will stay the same — everyone loved the food so much, he and his fellow organizers didn’t want to rock the boat. 

“The meal will be pretty much the same as last year, everyone was really happy with it, so we didn’t want to mess around too much,” he laughed. “We’ll be making the same dessert through the (Mad Greek) restaurant again, as well as adding some of our souvlaki and our Greek sauce from the restaurant. 

“Each year, it gets a little easier to organize. … For example, we couldn’t find proper plates for the plate breaking in the first couple of years, and this year we actually found them. I loaded up my vehicle on Monday … from floor to ceiling with plates shipped here from Greece.” 

The Greek tradition of plate smashing has (to no one’s surprise) proved highly popular, but it has also presented some safety concerns, with barriers erected to keep the resulting shards under control. These new plates from Greece are designed to break, Iatridis explained, so people won’t have to throw them so hard. 

“These plates, it’s actually on the box, in Greek, it says ‘πιάτα για σπάσιμο’ (piáta gia spásimo), which means, ‘plates for breaking.’” 

Greek Night also includes a silent auction, a live auction, and a ‘little surprise’ each year, which the organizers keep secret until the night itself. 

Keep up with event updates by following Tourism Moose Jaw and the DMJA on their social media channels.



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