ATHENS
weekly
M Shop Buys
For souvenirs and gifts, the M Shop, at the Megaron is a one-stop shop offering beautiful hand-crafted objects, music, jewellery, sculptures and much more. With lots of options for kids, such as small rug toys and musical fairy tales, here is the ideal place to buy Easter candles to celebrate in style. Monday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm at Megaron, Vasilissis Sofias Av. & Kokkali. Contact: 210.728.2591 or themshop@megaron.gr
Weekly supplement by Insider Publications • www.insider-publications.com • No 4 • Friday, April 4, 2014 Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
Constructions by Marc Raymond
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal present Ohad Naharin’s Minus One. 35 dancers perform at a gripping speed and then melt into movements that are slower before coming full circle to explosive expressiveness. April 4 at 8 pm at Megaron, Vasilissis Sofias Av. & Kokkali. Tel. 210.728.2333, megaron.gr
The solo exhibition of Swiss Marc Raymond consists of 3 series of works: découpage on paper, sculptures and monochromatic carvings. Curated by Benoît Antille. From April 3 to May 3 at Athens Art Gallery, Glikonos 4. Tel. 210.721.3938, athensartgallery.gr
INTERVIEW: ALEXANDER KOCH
Sustaining almost 55,000 jobs and contributing to approximately 1% of Greece’s total tax revenues, Athenian Brewery is a responsible leader in the beer industry. Alexander Koch, Marketing Director of Athenian Brewery, in conversation with Insider Weekly. Athenian Brewery brews and bottles some of the most popular beer brands in the Greek market and is the largest producer and distributor of beer in Greece since 1963. How do you hope to retain your fizz in the beer market after 50 long years? Over our 50 years of presence in the Greek market, we have built strong ties with Greek consumers and we state this in our motto “We are here”. We continue to invest in our breweries and in the market by introducing new products. In our view the best way to keep the category interesting is through innovations which satisfy the ever- changing consumer needs and contribute to the economy. You can expect a lot of exciting new products coming out of our breweries the coming years. Athenian Brewery is the leading brewery in Greece and it takes big brands to make a big impact. Two of the CSR activities that you are particularly proud of? We strongly believe that these days big companies have to insist on their contribution to the economy and society. Therefore, we con-
tinue to contribute to through targeted CSR activations that create value for the economy, employment and agricultural production. Among many, I would like to mention two activities; First, is our barley sourcing programme which started in 2008, being the first and largest in our market. It was a great opportunity to localize the source of our barley, the key ingredient for our beers. We have now achieved a steady supply of high quality materials and at the same time provided an important source of income to Greek farmers and the local economy. We are very proud to have 3.000 farmers participating. We expect that by the end of this year we will have enough Greek barley for our entire production. The second activity is our employee volunteerism programme, where our employees offer both personal and work time to support 3 NGOs in Athens, Patras and Thessaloniki. It is very important to mention that the NGOs where proposed and selected by voted by our employees. How is the beer industry coping with the crisis? To what extent does weather and tourism impact beer consumption? As with the entire economy, the beer industry has also been affected by the crisis. Consumers have significantly less disposable income and this has created different buying behaviors. We believe though that the total beer market has enough room for growth.
The sea in a bag
The per capita consumption in Greece is still relatively low compared to the European average. Beer is still mainly consumed during summer and at specific occasions. We see it as our responsibility to keep beer exciting. To create a dynamic portfolio and introduce new products that meet the latest consumer demands and trends. Last year we launched Amstel Radler (an innovative proposition of beer and lemon) and we continue this year with Amstel Free (0% alcohol and rich beer taste), Alfa Strong and Affligem (an abbey ale with 1000 years of heritage). These new products will attract new consumers and make beer relevant at different occasions. If you were to raise a glass of beer, to what would it be? I would raise a glass to Greece and its people. I have lived in Greece for 2,5 years now and things have not been easy here in the recent past. I have huge respect for the way people cope and adjust to this new reality. Greece, as a country, has so much to offer and I wish for its magic and beauty to shine again. Actually I sense that things are changing for the better now. Spirits and optimism are rising again, which will drive further progression. Let’s drink a beer to that!
EVENTS THIS WEEK
Concert
Exhibition
Art
Ojos Verdes Andreas Katerinopoulos presents his first musical composition dedicated to the creation of life with 6 compositions April 4 at Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, 206 Piraeus Ave. Tel. 210.341.8550, mcf.gr
Katerina Giannaka A presentation of ceramic objects by painter and ceramicist Katerina Giannaka from April 10 to 26 at Eleni Marneri Galerie, Lebessi 5-7 & Porinou 16. Tel. 210.861.9488, elenimarneri.com
One Thousand and One Nights French-Lebanese narrator Layla Darwiche participates in storytelling performances. April 4 to 6 at Mairivi Theatre, Sahtouri 4 & Sarri 7, Psyrri. Tel. 210.522.2181, mairivi.gr
Spacesheep Ioanna Gouzeli deals with concepts such as time, fear and obsessions, focusing on the concept of space. Eleftheria Tseliou Gallery, Irakleitou 3, Kolonaki. Tel. 210. 361.8188
a canopy of bright stars. But today it’s a different story. The tourist influx is bringing with it huge challenges for the island. The famed Sarakiniko beach, stretching along Gavdos’ northern coast, is today blighted every few hundred yards with ugly concrete bunkers – makeshift tavernas with their own perpetually humming generators. Relieved to be away from Sarakiniko, we drive up 4kms to Kastri, the inland capital and find a different approach to hospitality in Gavdos. George Papadakis, who has built a set of six apart-
ment houses in stone and timber, hopes to nurture something special for Kastri, whose only remaining original inhabitant is his father Vassilis. The apartments constructed by the entrepreneurial Papadakis are an example of how tourist development of the island can be managed in a sustainable way; sensitive to the needs of the increasing numbers and types of visitors; environmentally responsible and committed to working within the regulatory systems which desperately need to be applied to manage the growth of tourism on the island.
Storytelling
After Thessaloniki, “Marinella Meets Vembo” is back in Athens. This ambitious musical brings to life an entire era of Greece’s modern history marked by the presence of the great singer and actress Sophia Vempo. Until April 13 at Badminton Theatre. Tel. 210.884.0600, badmintontheater.gr.
What is the Road to Rio program? The Road to Rio program which was launched recently is a project whereby Greek sailing champions donate their sails to us and we have created a special Road to Rio line, the profits of which will be donated back to the sailing teams who are hoping to race in the Rio Olympic Games in 2016. So far, we have three sailing teams we are supporting: Yiannis Mitakis (Finn category), Pavlos Kagialis & Takis Mantis (470 category) and Sophia Bekatorou & Kostas Trigonis (Nacra 17 category). The Road to Rio models can be purchased via our e-shop at www.saltybag. Salty Bag is one of the few upcycling com and at selected point of sales in companies in Greece, founded by three Athens and Thessaloniki as well as at young Greek entrepreneurs in Corfu certain yacht clubs. in 2013. On the eve of the company’s first birthday, Insider Weekly caught up with one of the co-founders Stratis Andreadis to discuss their new innovative Road to Rio program. Tell us a few words about Salty Bag? I was invited in January 2013 to a sailing seminar in Corfu. When it was over, three of my “students” came up to me and asked me about points of sale in Athens for bags which they had What has public reception been to been already making for nine months your idea of turning used sails into from discarded sails found lying in ma- bags? So far we have been touched by rinas in Corfu. I immediately fell in love the heart-warming letters and e-mails with the project and suggested that we have received not only from Greece we jointly create a new company. Over but from the rest of world with people lengthy dinners, well into the morn- encouraging us to continue to do what ing hours with my co-founders Spyros we are doing. Our salty bags have travDaikos, Panos Varouhas and Chryssa elled to Australia, the USA, Brazil, the Halikiopoulou, we created Salty Bag a UK, Switzerland and many other locayear ago based on four principles: to tions across the globe. It has been an do good, to upcycle, to create hand- uphill battle in the sense that it is very crafted bags in Corfu - sourcing where difficult to stay true to your principles of possible from local manufacturers, and exquisite products and craftsmanship, to preserve the stories. Each salty bag while at the same time dealing with the comes to its new owner with a booklet bureaucratic hurdles of setting up and and a QR code with information about operating a small company in a rural the sail’s previous life at sea – where it area in Greece. However, we keep on lived, adventures it encountered, dan- saying that two of our favorite Greek gers it faced. Thus we pass on these words which cannot be translated are stories of races across seas, of quiet “meraki” and “filotimo” and hope that coves and starry nights, of pain and through our efforts we make the rest overcoming, of storms and the adven- of the world see Greece in a different perspective. tures that only a life at sea can offer.
upcycling stories
Keeping spirits high
tribute to Vembo
TV THIS WEEK SONS OF ANARCHY 5
©TCFTD
An adrenalized drama about an outlaw motorcycle club intent on protecting their sheltered small town against encroaching drug dealers, corporate developers and overzealous law officers. Premieres 7/4 @ 22.20
MODERN FAMILY 5 ©TCFTD
Follow Jay Pritchett’s family in Season 5, which finds Gloria devastated, Cam and Mitchell celebrating the legalization of gay marriage and Claire and Phil trying to stay home alone. Premieres 8/4 @ 21.00
Watch FOX on NOVA, OTE TV, HOL, CYTA Watch FOX Life on NOVA, OTE TV, CYTA Watch National Geographic Channel on NOVA, HOL, CYTA
entertainment news SCANDAL FASHION DAY
Fox International Channels Greece celebrated season 3 of Scandal and the fashion choices of leading lady Olivia Pope, hosting Scandal Fashion Day at Tsantilis store. The shop windows, were “dressed” with Scandal quotes and fashion editors and celebrities attended the party. “Scandal” airs on Fox Life every Thursday @ 21.00
CINEMA THIS WEEK 300
Greek General Themistokles leads the charge against invading Persian forces led by mortalturned-God Xerxes and Artemisia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.
THE LEGO MOVIE
An ordinary LEGO minifigure, mistakenly thought to be the extraordinary MasterBuilder, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil LEGO tyrant from gluing the universe together.
paths less travelled
Postcard from Gavdos by Mike Sweet
There’s been no shortage of takers for the 2 hour journey to Europe’s most southerly outpost, the tiny island of Gavdos, nearly 50 kms off Crete. The ‘Samaria’ ferry which plies the iridescent blue water from Paleochora, arrives at the jetty on time, and the assembled throng of backpackers, trucks loaded with building materials and fuel, are eager to get out of the unremitting Cretan sun and reach the shade on board. Gavdos, with just 45 permanent residents and encompassing only 36 sq. kms, has achieved an almost mythic status as the last ‘undiscovered’ island retreat in Greece, untouched by mass tourism. For years it was the preserve of a few hardy independent travelers, who rocked up on Sarakiniko beach to camp and sleep for free under the trees and
Sports
Nikos Hatzis dunks a new record by Graham Wood
As far as unsung heroes go, the evergreen Nikos Hatzis is up there with the best of them. The 37-year-old veteran basketball player became the top flight’s all-time leading scorer after notching up 5184 points in 548 matches following a 19-point haul which helped his team Ilisiakos defeat Ikarus Halkida on Monday. The 6ft 5in Kalamata-born shooting guard, who is also the record-holder in games played in the top division, has
been a model of consistency throughout a distinguished professional domestic career which began back in 1995 with AEK Athens, where he then spent 10 successive seasons before moving to Olympiacos, Panionios, back to AEK and finally Ilisiakos where he has played since 2009. His achievement eclipsed the record held by Angelos Koronios who scored 5,170 points. “I think that this is definitely the best thing that I have achieved on a personal level,” he said. “Managing to become the top scorer of all time is something very special and I love that after 18 years I arrived at this point and I had the strength to do it.” If he does have any regrets, perhaps they would include the fact that despite his ability and glittering domestic career,
Hatzis was ‘unlucky’ enough to be part of a golden generation of marquee basketball players such as Dimitris Diamantidis, Thodoros Papaloukas, Vasileios Spanoulis and Nikos Zisis to name only a few, and did not manage to play a part in the national team’s triumph at the 2005 Eurobasket and second-place at the 2006 FIBA World Championships. Despite his advancing years – Hatzis turns 38 in June – he is still not considering hanging up his sneakers, revealing that he intends to continue as a coach. “I think that as long as you feel good you don’t think about stopping and this is the case with me,” he said. “I want to go on and hope to finish the season well and help keep Ilisiakos in the top flight. “When I do decide to stop I want to get into coaching. I think I have a lot to offer to the sport. I love basketball and for me it would be the next challenge of my career.”
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