Second annual Greek Night set for May 13; tickets selling fast

Last year’s inaugural Greek Night was brought to life by the Downtown Moose Jaw Association and Tourism Moose Jaw and proved to be a riotously enjoyable night of eating, dancing, music, plate-smashing, and Greek culture.

The 2023 Greek Night will be on Saturday, May 13. Tickets are $125 each or $900 for a table, with the capacity increasing to 300 people from the inaugural 250.

Tickets are available from Tourism Moose Jaw by calling 306-693-8097. Like last year, a ticket purchase also enters guests into a prize giveaway for a trip valued at $5,000.

According to John Iatridis, a quarter of the tickets were sold before anything was announced, and about half are gone since the official announcement on March 1.

Iatridis owns the Mad Greek Restaurant, sits on the board of the Downtown Moose Jaw Association (DMJA), and celebrates his family’s culture and heritage every chance he can. As one of the organizers of 2022’s Greek Night, he said its success guaranteed a repeat.

“The thing about Greek heritage is that it’s very inviting, you know? They want to make their house feel like your house, and you feel that with events like this,” Iatridis said. “So, we are fundraising for things like beautifying our downtown, the Moose Jaw Trolley, etc. … But it’s just a really fun time, I mean, who doesn’t have fun smashing plates?”

Iatridis noted that he and his friends and family have attended Greek events in Regina, Saskatoon, and Swift Current for many years, leading him to wonder why Moose Jaw wasn’t joining in. Now that the event has been established, he’s confident it will continue far into the future.

The food will consist of traditional Greek dishes such as Greek salad, souvlaki, roast potatoes, stuffed chicken, and, of course, pitas and tzatziki.

Music is being provided by Greek-Canadian band Arkadia, formed in 1997 out of Regina.

“Actually, a lot of my cousins are in that band,” Iatridis chuckled. “They’re very talented … When they first started, I thought, ‘OK, this is just my cousins doing a Greek band,’ which is nice, you know, we all speak Greek fluently.

“But then they started getting quite a bit of credibility, like regular play on radio stations in Toronto and Greece … we’re lucky to have them, and lucky that they’re nearby.”

There will be Greek dancers from Regina as well, providing entertainment and excitement — especially when the plate breaking begins.

“The Daughters of Penelope from Regina come in and do some more traditional and then some more modern stuff,” Iatridis said. He laughed, “I know they scared a few people last year when one of the young guys did a backflip off the stage into a pile of broken plates.”

The dancers also make it their mission to dance through the tables grabbing people and getting them up and moving.

“We hope that (Greek Night) grows every year,” Iatridis added. “And this year, you know, we have more than six weeks to plan it, so we’re trying to add a few things, there’ll be some surprises.”