Every year, for the past four years, Skokie has hosted an event called Coming together in Skokie (CTIS), in which the village of Skokie along with the neighboring towns, schools and colleges get together to celebrate the diversity and cultures of the area.  In past years, the focus has been on the Indian, Filipino and Assyrian cultures. This year’s spotlight shines on the Greeks.

” I think that it’s amazing that the Greek culture was chosen this year because the Greek culture is so rich and it surrounds us in our everyday lives, for example, in our everyday language and in our schools,” North student activities executive secretary Eleni Andritsakis said.

At the opening ceremony at Niles West High School last weekend, moderated  by Jane Monzures  of WGN-TV, were tasty Greek appetizers from local restaurants, an original short film highlighting the diversity of Chicago, a Greek skit enacted by Hellenic students from District 219 and many other performances.

But that’s not all– the celebration will continue over the next  six weeks with more than 50 events.

Georgia Taxakis, math teacher at Niles North and chairperson for Coming Together In Skokie,  played a significant role in putting the entire month and a half of events together, with the help of  her committee members: Thalia Argyropoulos, D219 Staff, Allina Nikolopoulou, Niles North parent, Bill Papaioannou, Niles West Staff and Niles West Hellenic Club sponsor, Vivian Davros, Niles West Alumni parent and Toni Leftakis, Niles West parent.

” I love the entire idea of CTIS and feel that you should use it as a way to not only learn something about the Greeks, but also about yourself,” Taxakis said. “We are very lucky to be able to show the people of Skokie and neighboring cities an in-depth experience into Greek culture, both here in the United States and also in Greece!”

The  CTIS committee has created events suited to anyone’s taste and age.

For those interested in Plato and Homer, the author of The Green Shore, Natalie Bakopoulos, will be at Niles North on Mar. 7 for a lecture and  book signing.

Hellenic Club will also be hosting “Greek Day in the IRC” here at Niles North on Wednesday, Feb. 13.

The best part of the six weeks of fun is that every event is free. The community members donated their time and money to create a wonderful experience so that everyone can enjoy the Greek culture.

There are many events ranging from books and authors to music and dancing to cooking and family fun. For more information and a list of all the events over the next six weeks, click here.