Musicians set for anti-narcotics fund-raising concert at Lycabettus
Coinciding with World Anti-Narcotics Day this Saturday, the local rehabilitation center Paremvasi has organized a concert that will feature several top-selling local acts at the Lycabettus Theater. On the bill are Philippos Pliatsikas, formerly of the extremely popular Greek rock band Pyx Lax, Manolis Famellos, who had emerged as the frontman of the folk-rock band Podilates in Thessaloniki before launching a domestically successful solo career, Onar, Efstathia, and Thodoris Kontakos. «We support life and those that fight for it,» Efstathia told a news conference ahead of the show. Pliatsikas, speaking out against drug use, noted that mainstream society needed to offer greater understanding and support for drug users, rather than animosity, as is often the case. Onar and Kontakos thanked the event’s organizers for the opportunity to offer their support to the cause through their music. An annual report released several months ago and based on data collected by the National Center for Documentation and Information on Narcotics and Addiction indicated that fewer Greeks use drugs than they did five years ago. However, the survey showed that more addicts were dying and that more teenagers were experimenting with drugs and hard liquor. Although drug rehabilitation and detoxification programs in Greece have expanded, the waiting list remains long for those detox clinics that take in the most troubled addicts. Tickets, priced at 20 euros, are available at the Hellenic Festival box office (39 Panepistimiou, tel 210.327.2000), Metropolis music stores, as well as Paremvasis (27 Solomou, tel 210.330.2426).
