Jasperites could soon have the opportunity to dive into Greece鈥檚 rich history, ancient architecture and language without ever stepping out of town.
Kostas Souliaris, who moved to Canada from Greece five years ago, is hoping to start a weekly course, teaching participants how to use the Greek language in all its forms and various aspects of Greek culture and history.
鈥淔or the language we will start very simple by just looking at the alphabet. For history we鈥檒l start right from the beginning until now and we can look at the geography and talk about some of the best sites to see if you ever visit,鈥� Souliaris said.
Details about the class have yet to been finalized because Souliaris said he is still trying to gauge interest for the course.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to see if there are enough people and then we can start to move forward,鈥� he said.
Those interested are asked to call Souliaris at 780-931-3051 or attend a meeting at the Jaser Municipal Library on Nov. 26 at 11 a.m.
鈥淭he course will basically be free,鈥� said Souliaris, adding that he will volunteer as the course鈥檚 instructor.
There might be a $10 monthly fee per student to help cover the cost of renting a classroom at Habitat for the Arts.
鈥淣othing has been finalized yet, but we know we can rent space at Habitat for the Arts, but we鈥檙e hoping we can just use a classroom at the high school for free,鈥� Souliaris said. 鈥淚 really want it to be free for people to come and learn.鈥�
Souliaris said he along with other Greek Jasperites were inspired to start the class after discussing a lack of cultural resources in town.
鈥淭he thing is there are so many of us that live in Jasper that are Greek. Years ago, we tried many times to bring a school teacher from Edmonton to teach our kids our language and there were quite a few kids and parents that were interested, but it just never worked out,鈥� said Nick Bartziokas.
Bartziokas first moved from Greece in the 1950s, eventually setting down roots in Jasper.
鈥淎t that time there were so many Greeks coming to Jasper, starting families, building houses and starting businesses,鈥� said Bartziokas.
However, decades later, when his children started having families of their own, Bartziokas said he feared his grandchildren would lose touch with their Greek heritage.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 not around them then kids won鈥檛 pay attention, but then this summer two of my grandchildren actually asked me if I could teach them Greek so I think it鈥檚 very important that we do have the opportunity in our community to connect people with their heritage,鈥� Bartziokas said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not just the Greeks. Greece is a place so full of history that I think anyone would be interested in learning more about it.鈥�
Souliaris said he鈥檚 already had several inquiries from non-Greek locals.
鈥淲e welcome everyone. I just want to share my culture,鈥� he said.
To further expand on local Greek education, Souliaris and a few other Greek community members including Bartziokas have pitched in some funds to purchase a few history and language books, which will be donated to the Jasper Municipal Library to try and start a small Greek resource section.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely in the works and discussions have started,鈥� said Angie Thom, director of library services. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge founding population of Greeks in the community and I think it would be great help to reflect their culture and heritage. So if we can make that happen then we would love to.鈥�
Souliaris said the first few books have been ordered and should be available at the library some time in December.
鈥淲ith time we hope to see the section grow and be used by all the community,鈥� Souliaris said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing just to look up something on the Internet, but I think it鈥檚 important to be able to go to the library and actually sit down and do research using books.鈥�
Kayla Byrne
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