Miss Greek Independence crowned

About 200 people gathered at the Stathakion Center of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, in Astoria on Sunday, March 11, to witness the crowning of the Miss Greek Independence of 2007.
After a selection process involving verbal presentations in both Greek and English, answering questions about Greek history and religion, and an evening gown competition, a panel of judges adjourned to select the winner, and two runners-up.
The winner of the contest gets a round-trip ticket to Greece and will be featured on a float in the 76th annual Greek Independence Day Parade up 5th Avenue in Manhattan on Sunday, April 15, 2007.
Second runner-up is Stavroula Kavallieratos, a 19-year-old Queens College elementary education student, who lives in Bayside.
First runner-up is Evangelia Podaris, 19, of Astoria, who is a Political Science major at Yale University.
And the winner is … Lina Paxos, 20 of Rockland County, New York. The 20-year-old New City resident studies Business and Law at Fordham University.
Paxos was crowned by the 2006 winner, Georgia Lilakis, 23 of Demarest, New Jersey and a Rutgers University graduate.
The contest, which has been conducted by the federation for over 50 years, is open to Greek Orthodox females between the ages of 17 and 25, who have at least one parent of Hellenic origin and are at least a high school senior. Of this year’s fourteen contestants, seven were from Queens. All but the winner will be able to compete again next year, subject to the age requirement.
The federation is the organizing body of the New York parade, commemorating the 186th anniversary of Greek Independence from 400 years of Ottoman rule, on March 21, 1821. Years of ensuing warfare claimed thousands of lives, among them the notable English poet, Lord Byron.
The theme of this year’s parade, the largest celebration outside of Greece, is “Religious Freedom.” Not surprisingly, the theme is focused on religious freedom in Turkey.