On January 17th, it was feast day at the Chian Federation, in Astoria, NewYork, with the
cutting of Vasilopita and the presentation of SCIOFEST, with the ‘Back to Chios’ event, taking
place in May 2-7, 2016, in Chios !
‘
May the Vasilopita gathering bless the paul kotrotsios project and bring it good luck from its very birth.
In 2015, Constantin (Costas) Kastoris and some friends in Chios founded the non-profit association
« SCIOFESTRUST » in order to highlight the history of the island, the safeguarding of the
intangible, material and cultural heritage of Chios, kind of setting up a network between
members of the local community and the Chian Historical Diaspora.
This is a unique Chian heritage program, whose goal is to attract a large audience to actively
participate in the event. They will be able to attend a series of lectures on the history of the
Chian Diaspora, as well as on Chian shipping, wine and art, not to mention genealogical
research about Chian families.
As part of the festival, many thematic activities will take place, such as musical and theatrical
performances, movie screenings, art exhibitions and tourist visits to the various places of
interest our beautiful island has to offer. Best of all, the pianist Katia Skanavi, both Russian
and Chian will treat us to a recital with some surprises!
January 17th was the first day of the crowdfunding campaign ! So far, the response has been
excellent and we thank the Chian Federation for their hearty welcome . We believe that with
your support and the various Chian societies in the USA and elsewhere in the world, we will
create a new relationship with our compatriots wherever they live, to shape a new culture of
cooperation and progress for our country. That’s why our only motto is ‘Contribute, please’ !….
We hope that by pooling resources from everywhere, Chian compatriots will be able to
restore the important monuments of the island, and will contribute to the preservation and
dissemination of our cultural values and traditions and of course, the development of our
island, with the participation of people originating from it, as was done in the past.
“Back to Chios almost 200 years later… with their life experiences as shaped by the
memories of their Chian ancestors. Painters, musicians, writers, business leaders, etc., are
invited to attend this important event. We will create the best conditions to receive them in
Chios », stated Constantin (Costas) Kastoris the Director of SCIOFEST.
Let it be said !
To contact SCIOFEST please visit www.sciofest.org
or write to sciofestcelebratinglives@
