During the last week of April, the City of Lowell was visited by a delegation of representatives from its sister city: Kalamata, Greece. On Thursday, April 28, State Senator Ed Kennedy joined Former Mayor of Lowell Bill Samaras, members of the Federation of Hellenic-American Societies of New England and members of the delegation from the city of Kalamata, Greece at a dinner in honor of the Kalamata Delegation at the Olympia Restaurant in Lowell. The dinner was sponsored by the Messinian Society. Earlier in the day municipal officials from Lowell, Massachusetts and Kalamata, Greece met to sign a Sister City Agreement at Lowell City Hall. Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau and Kalamata Mayor Athanasios Vasilopoulos signed the agreement on behalf of their respective cities. State Senator Kennedy extended his Congratulations to Federation President Bill Kafkas and former Mayor Bill Samaras on their work in negotiating the Sister City Agreement.
Continuing the festivities on Saturday, April 30, Senator Kennedy attended the Annual Greek Independence Day Dinner Gala at the Marriott Hotel in Newton. Entertainment at the gala included music by the Aggeliki Psonis Band and a special dance performance by the Sons and Daughters of Alexander the Great. The 2022 Freedom Award was presented to Doctor Nicholaos Madias and several scholarships were presented by the award chairman, Dimitrios Mattheos.
