The 42nd Annual Convention by the Cretan Federation of Australia and New Zealand (CFANZ) took place in Brisbane, Queensland from January 3 to January 8 this year.
Hosted by the Cretan Association of Queensland, the week was filled with plenty of food, music and of course, lots of traditional Greek dancing performances.
On day one of the Convention, Cretan delegates from across Australia and NZ arrived in Brisbane. Later, Socrates Tsourdalakis launched his book, The Cretan Pioneers of Australia from 1829, at Olympic FC Hall. In the evening, a welcome dinner took place.
On Thursday, the Cretan Youth of Australia and NZ held their Annual General Meeting (AGM). This was followed by a gin tasting event and a cocktail party.
On Friday, the CFANZ held its own AGM. During the meeting, Tony Tsourdalakis stood down as President of the Federation and Emmanouel Mountakis was elected as his replacement. A new Executive Council was also elected.
Later that day, people were invited to join in on a River Citycat Ride, and the evening ended with a dinner dance.
The dance saw music performances by Cretan musicians, as well as dancing performances by Cretan dancing groups from across Australia and NZ.
On Saturday, the Cretan Youth Sports Carnival was held at Olympic FC oval, then there was a dinner held for the senior delegates at a Lebanese restaurant, Baba Ganou. For the youth, the Cretans held a C.Y.A.N.Z Kouzoulasa Youth Night.
On Sunday, a church service took place at St Anna Greek Orthodox Church in Bundall. This was followed by a Blessing of the Waters ceremony at Evandale Park in Surfers Paradise and a luncheon at St Anna’s community hall. A farewell glendi for interstate and international delegates marked the end of the Convention.
