SUPPORTING AXION ESTIN’S NORTHCOTE FESTIVAL TO GROW AND THRIVE

The Northcote Festival, hosted by the Holy Monastery of Axion Estin, will receive $200,000 over four years under a re-elected Victorian Labor Government, securing long-term support for one of the inner north’s growing multicultural celebrations and helping it continue to bring people together across cultures, generations and faiths.

State Member for Northcote Kat Theophanous MP announced the major commitment at this year’s festival, joining thousands of community members, families, performers and volunteers for a celebration of culture, tradition and community that continues to grow each year.

The commitment reflects the Victorian Labor Government’s continued support for multicultural communities and for events that celebrate Victoria’s cultural diversity and strengthen social cohesion.

At the heart of Northcote’s Hellenic community for decades, the Holy Monastery of Axion Estin has been an important spiritual and cultural home. A place where Orthodox faith, language and traditions have been kept alive, shared and proudly passed on.

Through the Northcote Festival, that rich heritage is opened up and celebrated in a way that welcomes everyone. Each year, the Monastery opens its doors to people from across Melbourne for a vibrant celebration of food, music, dance and culture, proudly grounded in its Hellenic and Cypriot heritage and Greek Orthodox roots.

This year, that spirit is stronger than ever. The festival has expanded to two stages, with Greek and Cypriot dance groups joined by the Ashur Assyrian, Aurora Romanian and Eagles Albanian folk dance groups. A reflection of how the festival continues to grow, evolve and embrace the diversity of the inner north.

At a time when social cohesion can feel increasingly fragile, festivals like this matter more than ever. They create spaces where people can celebrate where they come from with pride, while strengthening their sense of belonging to the community we share.

They give children and young people the opportunity to stay connected to their languages, faiths and traditions, while opening those traditions to friends, neighbours and people from all walks of life.

That ability to be proud of heritage while embracing and celebrating the heritage of others is at the heart of multicultural Victoria and one of the great strengths of the community we have built together.

The $200,000 commitment over the next four years will give the Northcote Festival the certainty to build on its success, grow its reach and welcome even more people and communities into the celebration.

Ms Theophanous acknowledged His Grace Bishop Evmenios and Father Phillip, together with the volunteers, performers, stallholders and community members whose commitment has transformed the festival into the growing celebration it is today.

Victoria is proudly home to people from more than 300 ancestries, who speak over 290 languages and dialects and practise more than 200 faiths. For Northcote, a community shaped by generations of Greek and Cypriot migration and enriched by people from every corner of the world, that diversity is not simply reflected in the statistics, it is lived every day.

Quotes attributable to Kat Theophanous MP, State Member for Northcote:

“A re-elected Labor Government will provide $200,000 over four years to support the Northcote Festival and help this wonderful celebration continue to grow.”

“Labor will always stand up for multiculturalism. We believe people should be able to celebrate who they are, be proud of where they come from and share their culture and traditions with confidence.”

"Here in Northcote, our diversity is part of everyday life. It’s in the languages spoken with pride, the businesses that colour our suburbs, and the traditions that centre us. That's worth celebrating and protecting."

“As the Member for Northcote, I’ve been honoured to work closely across our multifaith and multicultural communities to understand their needs, challenges and aspirations.”

“This November, the choice is stark. A politics of division under a Liberal One Nation coalition. Or a Labor Government that values diversity as key to a strong and dynamic society.”