http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G55Z4dStmzc

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]]> http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/05/16/chris-kanakis-all-that-2013-dance-photo-shoot-ft-ecko-jeans/feed/ 0 http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/04/16/new-hellenic-museum-of-michigan-adds-a-bit-of-ancient-hellas-to-detroit/ http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/04/16/new-hellenic-museum-of-michigan-adds-a-bit-of-ancient-hellas-to-detroit/#comments Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:20:28 +0000 A. Papapostolou http://you.greekreporter.com/?p=2059 Nick Phillips
Item price: Arts
Location: Detroit

Description:
If everyone’s a little Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, then we’re all part Greek the rest of the year. At least, that’s what they’ll tell you at Detroit’s brand-new Hellenic Museum of Michigan, which will open its doors to the public Saturday.
“We want to focus on the notion that all who enter the museum are descendants of ancient Hellas,” says membership secretary and board member Tony Niarhos, “whether you’re Greek or not.”
Saturday’s opening festivities, the day before Detroit’s 12th annual Greek Independence Day Parade, will include an official ribbon-cutting at the museum at 5 p.m., followed by a 6:30 p.m. gala reception to benefit the museum at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Ancient Greece — more properly known as Hellas — is widely credited with gifting democracy and the tradition of free intellectual discourse to the world at large. It’s a cultural legacy as pertinent in Berlin as in Washington, D.C., with its white-marble buildings based on Roman precedents that were themselves modeled on ancient Greek architecture. Democratic government, Western languages, architecture and theater all trace their roots to Hellas.
To celebrate this universal heritage and to remind Metro Detroiters of the Greek-American story, as well, Hellenic museum officals say they hope to attract visitors far beyond the local Greek community, which they estimate numbers about 70,000.
“We’re not just here for Greek community,” says museum vice president for operations Joan De Ronne, “but to help the wider community learn about Hellenism and the history that’s the bedrock of civilization.”
Housed in a 1912 red brick mansion right across East Kirby from the Detroit Institute of Arts, the museum — with a total investment so far of about $2 million raised from foundations and individual donations — will add yet more oomph to the Cultural Center at the north end of Midtown, joining the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History as the district’s other ethnically focused institution. With eventual plans for exhibits, lectures, films, cooking classes and music and dance performances, the Hellenic Museum will round out weekend entertainment options for the culturally inclined.
That way, when weekend events at other Midtown cultural institutions are mobbed, you can trot over and check out what’s going on at the Hellenic Museum.
The museum is starting small, however, and many of those plans will take shape slowly over the next year. For the foreseeable future, the museum will only be open Saturday afternoons while work, mostly out of sight, continues.
“Keep in mind that this building was vacant for 10 years,” says executive board president Ernest Zachary, whose real-estate development firm is located just a few blocks away. “So we had to put it back together. And we’re still doing that. There were a lot of leaks, buckling floors and cracked plaster.”
Visitors strolling through the galleries, however, are unlikely to be aware of that. The house, with a renovation plan by Elisabeth Knibbe — the same architect who did the Inn on Ferry Street right behind the museum — will feature a first-floor exhibition on the history of Detroit’s Greektown that Wayne State University students compiled, while the wider story of Greek history, complete with a useful timeline from 4,000 B.C. to the present, will be presented in three rooms on the second floor.
Upstairs, don’t miss the dark green, 19th-century wedding dresses in a room devoted partly to examples of the national costume. Downstairs, in addition to its own timeline and historical photographs, the Greektown exhibit will include colorful artifacts such as the actual front door — complete with a bas-relief sculpture of a 19th-century Greek freedom fighter — from the old New Hellas Restaurant on Monroe Street that closed several years ago.
Stephanie Vlahakis, past president of the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago, helped advise the Detroit founders, and tips her hat to their feat in pulling off a new museum in the midst of a down economy. “Tenacious individuals make miracles happen,” she says.
The museum has also benefited from the generosity of its neighbors. The College for Creative Studies sent students over to help with labor, while students at the University of Michigan’s landscape architecture program worked up a plan for the grounds that Zachary says will be implemented. And for the past several months, 12 students from Marilyn Zimmerman’s Art as Activism course at Wayne State University have undertaken much of the archival research to pull together the Greektown exhibit.
Wayne State junior Che-Lin Aldridge, who went through hundreds of historic photos for the museum, sees it all as part if the dizzying ethnic tapestry that comprises the greater Detroit area.
“It’s so interesting how cultures blend together,” she says. “I’m African-American but spent lots of time in Greektown while growing up, whether playing pinball, going to Pegasus or,” she adds with a laugh, “the Golden Fleece for breakfast at 2:30 in the morning.”
mhodges@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-6021
Grand opening

5-10 p.m. Saturday, Hellenic Museum of Michigan opens
5 p.m. Saturday: Dedication and blessing by Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit
6:30 p.m. Saturday, Gala Reception at Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward, Detroit; admission: $80 per person (includes valet parking). Call (586) 779-6111, ext. 3, for tickets.
3 p.m. Sunday, 12th annual Greek Independence Day Parade, Campus Martius on Monroe Street in Detroit
Hellenic Museum of Michigan

67 E. Kirby, Detroit
Hours: noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays
Free admission
www.hellenicmi.org

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130410/ENT01/304100315#ixzz2Q3QBJtVp

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no images]]> http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/04/16/new-hellenic-museum-of-michigan-adds-a-bit-of-ancient-hellas-to-detroit/feed/ 0 http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/04/09/woman-scream-2013-comes-to-an-end/ http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/04/09/woman-scream-2013-comes-to-an-end/#comments Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:27:06 +0000 A. Papapostolou http://you.greekreporter.com/?p=2041 Women Poets International
Item price: Events, news, festivals, women, poetry, literature, scream, violence
Location: Woldwide

Description:
Woman Scream 2013 was heard aloud!

From bars to schools, from parks to the Congress, from computers to houses, from Dominican Republic to Tanzania a Woman Scream was heard! Jael Uribe.
In what could be called an exhausting but highly satisfactory, we can categorize the wonderful quest undertaken during the month of March 2013 in many parts of the world, by the Movement Women Poets International (Mujeres Poetas Internacional MPI), with the support of hundreds of institutions both private and governmental, literary groups, poets and artists, men, women and children in support of the great chain of worldwide events representing the Woman Scream International Poetry Festival in favor of women and against violence for a culture of peace, which this year paid tribute to the Pakistani Malala Yousufzai nominated Nobel Prize of Peace, for defending the right of girls and women to go to school in her country. Over thirty countries were the protagonists and over 90 events in different cities in the world were celebrated starting on the 1st. and ending on 31ts of March 2013.
Among participating countries we can highlight:

Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile, Panama, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, USA, Canada, Germany, Russia, Luxembourg, France, Morocco, countries South Africa, Kosovo, Greece, Antigua and Barbuda, Tanzania, Israel, New Zealand, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, among others, in addition to various events in different cities and towns, some with up to 8 events during the month, providing this way, a solid chain global solidarity.

Woman Scream is a collaborative effort that aims to unify wills for a noble cause. The goal of the MPI Movement is to support women’s literature specifically poetry, and the whole idea of WS festival is to send this women messages for self-esteem, respect and value, uniting wills of both men and women poets and artists. Each event has a unique voice and is one of its kind, with numerous activities that go from workshops, conferences, poetry readings, concerts, recitals, exhibitions, audiovisual, public events, among others Woman Scream served its social mission of honoring women.

Women Poets International Movement MPI is extremely pleased with the results of Woman Scream 2013, which left a whole trail of publications in different radio stations, television, and printed medias, as well as dozens of publications in digital media and especially in the minds of the people who supported attending the different venues, who are, after all, the real objective of the festival.

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]]> http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/04/09/woman-scream-2013-comes-to-an-end/feed/ 0 http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/03/10/the-12th-annual-detroit-greek-independence-day-parade/ http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/03/10/the-12th-annual-detroit-greek-independence-day-parade/#comments Sun, 10 Mar 2013 09:45:22 +0000 A. Papapostolou http://you.greekreporter.com/?p=1989 Nick Phillips
Item price: News, Hellenic Culture
Location: Detroit, MI

Description:
This Year’s Highlights: The Grand Opening of the Hellenic Museum of Michigan and the local Greek Dance Groups from throughout Michigan, Toledo and Windsor to Perform!

The Greek Community of Metropolitan Detroit will celebrate their 12th Annual Greek Independence Day on Sunday, April 14, 2013, with a parade in downtown Detroit. The parade will start at 3:00 p.m. and will proceed on Monroe St. from Woodward Ave. to the heart of Detroit’s Historic Greektown. The parade will be led by Metropolitan Nicholas of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Detroit, George Reganis, the Detroit Greek Parade President and Grand Marshal this year and the 2013 Hellenic Heritage Award Recipients. “Each year the Greek Community awaits for this annual parade with great anticipation, excitement and pride. It is a demonstration of the legacy of Hellenism and the preservation of the Greek culture”, said Metropolitan Nicholas. Dignitaries including representatives of local, state and federal government will also join these officials.

Prior to the parade, a Hierarchal Divine Liturgy celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation will take place at 10:00 a.m. at the Annunciation Cathedral, 707 East Lafayette Blvd. in Greektown.

The weekend festivities begin on Saturday, April 13, 2013, at 5:00 p.m., with the Grand Opening and dedication of the Hellenic Museum of Michigan (www.hellenicmi.org). Exhibits of the history of Greektown and the immigration story of the Greek- American will be featured. A gala reception will follow at 6:30 pm. at the Detroit Institute of Arts with strolling dinner, tours of Greek Gallery, entertainment and presentation of the Hellenic Heritage Awards. The 6th Annual Hellenic Heritage Awards will recognize those individuals who are contributing members of the community and have achieved exemplary distinction in strengthening the foundation of their faith and culture. They are George Dimopoulos, Diane Edgecomb, Phillip Frangos, Dr. Steve Tsangalias and Dr. Tsiatlas. Greektown Merchants Association will be honoring business owners Ted Gatzaros and Zoe and Gus Anton posthumously and founding members and Trustees of the Hellenic Museum will be recognized: Jim Papas, His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas, Paul Masseron, Dr. Kenneth Walters, Dr. Jim Jacobs and Effie Weinberg.

Tours of the Museum, music and dancing will continue throughout the evening. The Hellenic Museum, the former Scherer House and Children’s Museum, is located right in the heart of the Midtown Cultural Center at 67 E. Kirby, across from The DIA. The Museum will preserve the heritage and the legacy of extraordinary Greek Americans who immigrated to Michigan and will present the Hellenic history, culture, art and traditions to the entire community. Proceeds from Saturday’s events will go towards the support of the Hellenic Museum for future programs and current renovations.

Also participating in the parade will be over 40 marching units representing Greek Orthodox churches, cultural organizations, dance groups in colorful ethnic dress and area college student organizations from metropolitan Detroit and nearby communities including Windsor, Toledo, Flint, Saginaw, Ann Arbor and Lansing.

After the parade, a short program will be held near the end of the parade route. The American, Greek and Canadian national anthems will be sung symbolizing the strong unity of the three countries. Metropolitan Nicholas will offer prayers and remarks on Greek Independence Day. Area college leaders will represent their Greek studies departments.

Local Youth Dance groups performing a variety of Greek dances over the two-day celebration will represent the various regions of Greece. Performing will be: Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, Grand Blanc, Aristotle Hellenic Academy, Holy Cross Church, Farmington Hills, Hellenic Dance Company, Holy Trinity Church, Toledo, Hellenic Society For the Performing Arts, Kyklos Hellenic Society Dancers, Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Plymouth, Nisiotes Dancers, Omega Dancers, St. Nicholas Church, Troy, Pseloretes Cretan Dancers of Detroit, REVMA Dancers, St. Nicholas Church, Ann Arbor, Terpsichore Dancers, Windsor, Ontario and the Yassoo Dancers.

Greek musical ensembles will perform the melodic music of Greece and the Greektown Merchants and restaurants look forward to hosting the many visitors expected to attend the celebration. The Detroit Greek Independence Day Parade was revived in 2001, after an absence of over 30 years. It is managed by the Detroit Greek Independence Day Committee which is a non-profit corporation. Committee members work year long in preparation for the parade and represent Hellenic organizations and churches throughout this region.

Visit our website: www.Detroit.GreekParades.com

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]]> http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/03/10/the-12th-annual-detroit-greek-independence-day-parade/feed/ 0 http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/03/10/24-year-old-michigan-directors-film-papou-approved-to-shoot-in-state/ http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/03/10/24-year-old-michigan-directors-film-papou-approved-to-shoot-in-state/#comments Sun, 10 Mar 2013 09:44:39 +0000 A. Papapostolou http://you.greekreporter.com/?p=1988 Nick Phillips
Item price: Arts
Location: Detroit, MI

Description:
Novi, Michigan – March 5th, 2013 – Michigan’s film industry receives another name on its growing list of approved films for its Film and Digital Media Incentive. First-time feature film director and producer Michael Angelo Zervos wants to bring a unique and “Un-Hollywood” tale to silver screen entitled Papou, a Greek word meaning grandfather. Zervos will direct international film actor Yorgo Voyagis (Zorba the Greek, Without Borders), child actor Evan Kole (Golden Shoes, Avengers), and Emmy-Nominated comedian Basile (Jimmy the Greek).

The story centers around the titular grandfather named Archie (Voyagis) and his remarkable bond with his equally remarkable grandson, Demetri (Kole). When Archie is diagnosed with cancer, the oblivious but highly imaginative Demetri becomes determined to find a way for the two of them to live forever. “It isn’t a story that one would expect to see picked up by some enormous studio because it doesn’t contain over-the-top violence or meaningless sex” Zervos states. “I knew that when I wrote the script and that it simply wouldn’t be made if I didn’t helm the project myself.”

Papou is a story that is told through the perspective of a child and deals with universal themes of life and death. Zervos hopes that families will be able to watch the film and discuss their own views on these issues. “I am a firm believer that films, if they are going to be treated as art, must be bold, intelligent, but also emotionally-driven. As an audience member, if I forget a film by the following day, it wasn’t worth watching. I’m hoping that the story we tell is the kind that people will remember for a long time.”

Film industry veterans Michael Sinanis and Christos Moisides quickly joined the project as co-producers, giving the rookie director guidance through the often difficult waters of crafting a feature film independently. “It’s a deep, heartfelt, and personal story that will resonate with audiences of all types” explains Sinanis when asked why he took the role. “I can tell that [Zervos] is serious about this project because he knows exactly how he wants this story told and he’s committed to doing it right. Everything is in his head ready to be shot.”

In addition to his all local crew, Zervos has hired a diverse cast comprised of mostly local talent. “I’m using talent from six to sixty so I’ve had to recruit from both grade schools and senior citizen homes” Zervos quipped. “The talent is all here if you dig enough. Some of the actors have never been on camera before but I knew just as soon as met them that they have potential to carry significant roles. Others that I’ve hired are seasoned experts at the craft and will bring the kiss of life to what only exists currently on paper.”

Zervos even completed his film’s financing in a dramatic way fitting for film itself. When planning for a recent fundraiser at a local restaurant, Zervos and his co-producers estimated a mere one hundred would show up to support the project. Instead, over 250 people crowded the modest establishment and helped him raise the final $7,000 of his $200,000 feature. “Once again, the people of Michigan proved supportive of the arts and of an industry they have grown quite fond of” Zervos declared.

Principle photography is set to start in July and be wrapped by the end of the summer. Zervos plans a entering Papou into the festival circuit followed limited theatrical release in 2014.

Visit http://Motherandmidwife.com to follow along while cast information, concept art, and other news is released on the daily.

Contact: Michael Angelo Zervos, info@motherandmidwife.com, 46193 Galway Dr., Novi, MI, Ph: 248-514-9313

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]]> http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/03/10/24-year-old-michigan-directors-film-papou-approved-to-shoot-in-state/feed/ 0 http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/03/10/journey-to-greece-through-dance-at-holmdel-high-school-theater/ http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/03/10/journey-to-greece-through-dance-at-holmdel-high-school-theater/#comments Sun, 10 Mar 2013 09:43:47 +0000 A. Papapostolou http://you.greekreporter.com/?p=1986 arete bouhlas
Item price: announcement/news
Location: Holmdel, NJ

Description:
Journey to Greece Through Dance
A Two-Part Performance Featuring the Dances of the Ionian Islands
& an Assortment of Dances from Throughout the Greek World!

Holmdel, NJ – The nationally famous Hellenic Dancers of New Jersey (HDNJ) present Journey to Greece Through Dance, Sunday, March 17, 2013, at Holmdel High School Theater, 36 Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel, with a performance of traditional Greek folk dance from 3 – 5 pm. Light refreshments will be available for purchase during intermission. All tickets for the event are $20, and will be available at the door. Advance reservations for this event can be made by contacting Cheryl Bontales, 732.796.1006; bontsc@aol.com. This event is funded in part by the Hellenic Dancers of New Jersey, Inc., and New Jersey State Council on the Arts – Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Part one showcases the traditional folk dances of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, such as Rouga (Kerkyra), Kefalonitikos Syrtos (Kefalonia), Lemonia (Lefkada) and Zagarakia (Kythira). This is the first time HDNJ is presenting a full suite from this region! Part two is a “pikilia” or assortment of folk dances from throughout the Greek world, including Karpathos, Rhodes, Crete, Macedonia, Thrace, Cappadocia, and Cyprus to name a few. Many of the dances featured in Journey to Greece Through Dance are not seen outside of the regions in which they originated.

Proceeds from HDNJ’s Journey to Greece Through Dance will support this all-volunteer 501 (c) 3 nonprofit with general operating expenses. By purchasing a ticket audience members directly assist HDNJ in its mission of preserving Greek culture through presentations of the traditional folk dances of Greece.

This year, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Foodbank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties/Hurricane Sandy Relief, and Project Hope for Greece (a project of the Greek American Foundation). These charitable organizations generously serve the communities members of HDNJ live in, as well as the country of our roots. All donations are tax deductible. HDNJ is also eligible for most gift-matching programs so donations can count twice.

For over 40 years, the Hellenic Dancers of NJ has researched, presented and preserved over 300 folk dances, songs, and traditions from mainland Greece, its islands, Cyprus, and Asia Minor, and passed them on to two generations of Greek Americans. The troupe has been commended numerous times since its founding in 1972, for its dedication to its mission, as well as the enthusiasm and excitement of its performances. The dance troupe is currently comprised of first, second, third and fourth generation Greek Americans, ranging in age from 16 – 45, and represents the many Greek communities of New Jersey centered around Piscataway, Holmdel, Perth Amboy, Randolph, Toms River, Westfield, Tenafly, Paramus, and Clifton.

This outstanding troupe is nationally recognized for its presentation of Greek traditions and has performed at a number of local and national events including: Dukakis Presidential Rally, Inaugural Festivities for former President Ronald Reagan, Statue of Liberty Weekend Grand Finale, 20/20 ABC Television Program, Queens College of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies Benefit, O. Elytis Chair of Modern Greek Studies at Rutgers University Benefit, Union County College Folk Arts Festival, the NJ State Ethnic and Diversity Festival, for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew upon his first official visit to New Jersey, and Greek Heritage Day with the Metrostars. Members of the troupe participated in the Closing Ceremonies of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece and at the 2006 Centennial Epiphany celebrations in Tarpon Springs, FL.

For more information about the Hellenic Dancers of New Jersey, please contact Arete Bouhlas, Publicity Coordinator, 732.236.2108; info@hellenicdancersofnj.org, or visit www.hellenicdancersofnj.org or www.facebook.com/Hellenicdancersofnj

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]]> http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/03/10/journey-to-greece-through-dance-at-holmdel-high-school-theater/feed/ 0 http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/02/09/paul-taros-persistent-and-consistent-wins-the-chamber-ambassador-of-the-year-award/ http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/02/09/paul-taros-persistent-and-consistent-wins-the-chamber-ambassador-of-the-year-award/#comments Sat, 09 Feb 2013 11:08:41 +0000 A. Papapostolou http://you.greekreporter.com/?p=1951 Nick Phillips
Item price: News
Location: Detroit, MI

Description:
BIRMINGHAM, MICH., January 14, 2013 – The Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber recently announced Paul Taros as Ambassador of the Year for 2012. Taros owns Taros and Associates P.C., a CPA firm located in Bloomfield Hills. He has been a member of the Chamber since 2009.

Taros has almost perfect attendance at Chamber events and ribbon-cuttings. He’s also a reliable volunteer who completes every assignment. “If Paul were a student, he’d receive kudos for attendance and make highest honors for his efforts,” said Danielle Workman, Chamber Membership Manager.

One of his accounting clients received over a $22,000 refund from the IRS, after the refund had originally been denied. The process took over a year and involved numerous telephone calls, letters and faxes to the IRS, Taxpayer Advocate, and a Congressman’s office.

“I have always been persistent and an advocate for my clients,” said Taros. Not only is he persistent, he is passionate about giving back to the less fortunate.

Over the years Taros has volunteered at Focus Hope to prepare tax returns for low income individuals as part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.

Taros also serves on the Board of Directors and the Finance Committee for Crossroads for Youth as well as on the Communications Task Force for the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants. He has served on the Parish Council for Saint George Greek Orthodox Church and is a past treasurer. Taros is a grassroots activist in the Republican party.

Taros & Associates PLC is a member of the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber. Six communities strong, the 700+ member Chamber plays a vital role as the lead business advocate in Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township and Franklin. For more information, visit www.bbcc.com.

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]]> http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/02/09/paul-taros-persistent-and-consistent-wins-the-chamber-ambassador-of-the-year-award/feed/ 0 http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/01/25/detroit-developer-ted-gatzaros-achieved-the-american-dream/ http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/01/25/detroit-developer-ted-gatzaros-achieved-the-american-dream/#comments Fri, 25 Jan 2013 06:14:51 +0000 A. Papapostolou http://you.greekreporter.com/?p=1916 Nick Phillips
Item price: News
Location: Detroit, MI

Description:
Ted Gatzaros, 68, a Greektown developer who doubled-down on Detroit as others fled and was largely responsible for bringing casino gambling to the city, died Thursday at McLaren Macomb Hospital following a battle with lung and stomach cancers.

Gatzaros and his family own the recently reopened London Chop House, the Wah-Hoo Chinese restaurant and all three Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Cafés in metro Detroit.

Along with Jim Papas, a fellow Greek immigrant, Gatzaros developed what is now the International Center Building at 400 Monroe in Greektown and the Atheneum Suite Hotel. Their other projects included the Marquette, Blount and Murphy-Telegraph buildings.

“He was an investor in the city of Detroit when a lot of people were leaving,” said close friend Art Papapanos, a vice president at the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. “He started here from the bottom, and he achieved the American dream.”

Gatzaros and Papas were also partners in a business venture that began in 1988 and tried to open the city’s first casino with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. They provided the tribe with seven-tenths of an acre in Greektown next to Trappers Alley, a former seed company converted into a festival marketplace.

But the plan was scuttled in the mid-1990s by then-Gov. John Engler, who possessed veto power because the tribe was to build on land outside its reservation.

But Gatzaros and Papas had another card to play.

They helped lead the push for the 1996 statewide referendum that approved Detroit’s three present-day casinos.

Then-Mayor Dennis Archer on Thursday praised Gatzaros’ efforts, saying the casinos provided Detroiters jobs. “If we didn’t have casino gaming in the city of Detroit, we’d have been bankrupt several years ago.”

But the state’s gaming board wouldn’t grant Gatzaros a license because of allegations regarding his finances that were not publicly disclosed. So Gatzaros and Papas sold their stake in Greektown Casino, allowing it to open in 2000.

“It was very frustrating to try to defend against some of these allegations,” said Gatzaros’ attorney, Robert Young. “There was nothing ever proven because it didn’t exist.”

Several years later, the tribe offered Gatzaros a 1% stake in exchange for money still owed him. But he again needed state gaming board approval.

In 2007, the Michigan Gaming Control Board finally cleared Gatzaros and granted him partial ownership. “When that day came, he was very happy and proud and felt vindicated,” Young said.

However, his ownership stake was dissolved following Greektown Casino’s 2008 bankruptcy filing.

Gatzaros, born Aug. 10, 1944, was a teenager when he arrived here in 1963 from his native Greece.

Gatzaros washed dishes at Gus’ Coney Island in downtown Detroit and took classes at Wayne State University.

He and Papas met and started a contracting business. In 1976, they started a restaurant – the Odyssey — in Cadillac Tower. They sold it about five years later and opened Pegasus Taverna in Greektown.

The partners took on additional downtown redevelopments, including the high-profile Trappers Alley.

In a 2011 interview, Gatzaros credited his success in life to hard work, initiative and his adopted homeland. He scoffed at the notion of a 40-hour work week for an entrepreneur; “you need to make a commitment for 80-plus hours per week.”

“Detroit is one of the very few places where dreams for minorities and immigrants can become realities,” he said.

Gatzaros, a Grosse Pointe resident and naturalized U.S. citizen, is survived by his wife, Maria; son, Nico Gatzaros; daughter, Ellena Moisides and three grandchildren.

A private memorial service will be held next week.

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]]> http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/01/25/detroit-developer-ted-gatzaros-achieved-the-american-dream/feed/ 1 http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/01/02/a-detroit-novel-the-greeks-of-beaubien-street-part-murder-mystery-part-family-drama/ http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/01/02/a-detroit-novel-the-greeks-of-beaubien-street-part-murder-mystery-part-family-drama/#comments Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:16:29 +0000 A. Papapostolou http://you.greekreporter.com/?p=1890 Nick Phillips
Item price: Arts & More
Location: Detroit, MI

Description:
Arts & More in Southwest Michigan
The Greeks of Beaubien Street: Part murder mystery, part family drama

Saugatuck Township resident Suzanne Jenkins has just released the first
book in her series called The Greeks of Beaubien Street. The book is
part murder mystery, part drama. The main character, Jill Zannos, is a
homicide detective whose family owns a grocery store in Greektown in
Detroit. Jenkins says Jill is always walking a fine line between her
rough, modern job and her old-fashioned family. But Jill soon finds out
that her family has a few secrets that makes her realize they are not
as perfect as they seem.

Jenkins grew up in Greektown and she says a lot of what made her Greek,
in her mind, was the food. She says her family didn’t speak Greek or go
to an orthodox church, but they always made Greek food in their home.
In the book, Jenkins mentions many places that Detroit natives and
Saugatuck resident might recognize, like Christo’s Roadhouse in
Douglas, Michigan.

Jenkins other interest in policework helped fuse together this mix of
family drama and a CSI-like mystery. Jenkins also used her knowledge as
a former nurse to fill in the medical details.

She puts a lot of attention into human relationships, especially the
how family members and spouses interact with eachother. Jenkins says
she put a lot of her experiences over the years in the book.

You can find Suzanne Jenkins’ books on Amazon.com.

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]]> http://you.greekreporter.com/2013/01/02/a-detroit-novel-the-greeks-of-beaubien-street-part-murder-mystery-part-family-drama/feed/ 0 http://you.greekreporter.com/2012/12/09/barris-custom-cars-are-legends-in-the-hot-rod-tv-and-film-industries/ http://you.greekreporter.com/2012/12/09/barris-custom-cars-are-legends-in-the-hot-rod-tv-and-film-industries/#comments Mon, 10 Dec 2012 02:02:03 +0000 A. Papapostolou http://you.greekreporter.com/?p=1789 Nick Phillips
Item price: News, Automotive
Location: Detroit, MI

Description:

Cut-up photographs of a black Ford F-150 lie scattered across George Barris’ desk, forming a mosaic of fenders, headlamps and rear-quarter panels.

Barris’ eyes flicker over each fragment as he rearranges the parts of a normal-looking pickup truck and transforms it into the lunatic hot rod vision he has bouncing around in his head.

He dabs glue onto one scrap and sets it on paper. Then, another and another. Finally, he stands back and examines what has come together. The disorder has taken the shape of a mean-looking motor machine with a modified front grill, flared fenders and enlarged hood scoop.

“Pretty cool, isn’t it?” he asks. “Wait until you see the real thing.”

Barris, 87, has worked this way — using scissors and glue — for the past 70 years, taking ordinary vehicles and mutating them into hell-for-leather roadsters. Many of them have found a place in automotive history.

Others have been immortalized on television and in the movies. He turned a 1955 Ford Lincoln Futura into the Batmobile. He stretched out a Model T body and, with a few tweaks, made it into the ghastly vehicle that the Munsters drove in the TV show.

What began as a slightly subversive trend in the ’40s is now a bona fide profession, running at full speed today behind garage doors — even in a world where gas-sipping hybrids and subcompact cars seem to be getting all the attention.

Many hot rodders and customizers see their work as art and Barris as an old master.

“He’s a legend when it comes to developing the passion, sport or whatever you want to call the hot rod industry,” said Troy Ladd, the founder of Hollywood Hot Rod, a custom car shop in Burbank, Calif.

Barris’ love of cars came early. By the time he was 7 years old, he was piecing together balsa wood car models. It didn’t take long before he was entering and winning model contests sponsored by hobby shops.

His family wanted him to work at its Greek restaurant in a Sacramento, Calif., suburb, but Barris resisted. When he was a teenager, he rushed to sweep floors at a local auto body shop as soon as school let out. Before long, he was handling a blowtorch, shaping the immense metal auto bodies of the era.

When he turned 18, Barris left and moved to Los Angeles to become part of the emerging teen car culture.

With his savings, he opened Barris Custom Shop in Bell, Calif. He later switched it to “Kustom” because it looked more creative.

“Because I was Greek, I spelled it with a K,” Barris said. “I wish I would have trademarked that. I’d be a millionaire.”

Soon, Barris’ custom cars were causing a buzz. People sought him out, and his business took off.

His work caught the attention of Robert E. Petersen, who published Hot Rod, Street Rodder and Motor Trend magazines. After Barris’ curvy, candy-colored cars appeared in print in 1948, he began getting more attention than the top designers in Detroit. Hollywood took notice, too.

The entertainment industry turned to Barris to create cars for films with titles like “High School Confidential!” (1958) and “For Those Who Think Young” (1964).

When producers of the “Batman” TV show asked for a car that Adam West could battle villains with, Barris turned out a midnight black and fluorescent-red pinstriped monster. “I saw the script and it said, ‘Bang,’ ‘Pow,’ ‘Boom,’ ” Barris said. “That’s exactly what I wanted the car to be able to do. I wanted it to be as big a character as the actors themselves.”

Barris said he transformed the Lincoln in just 15 days for $15,000.

Producers of “The Munsters” asked Barris to get a hearse for the TV family’s car. But he had a better idea: He welded together three Model T bodies, put casket handles around the engine and decked out the interior in blood-red velvet. Under the hood, he put a Ford Cobra engine with 10 chrome-plated carburetors. Barris built it for $18,000 and called it the Munster Koach.

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