Cretan youth dressed proudly in traditional costumes, alongside families, friends and supporters of the Cretan Association of Sydney & New South Wales, turned up in droves to Marrickville Town Hall in Sydney’s inner west on Saturday, May 13 for the Association’s annual ball.
The ball is held to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Crete and this year, there were a number of distinguished guests in attendance.
This included, but is not limited to, Guest of Honour and Chief of Staff of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Lieutenant General Georgios Kiriakou; Commander Stylianos Mitsiotis from the Hellenic Navy; Colonel Ioannis Fasianos, Defence Attaché from the Embassy of Greece in Canberra; the Trade Commissioner of Greece in Australia, Chrysa Prokopaki; Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia; Mayor of the Inner West Council, Darcy Byrne; Inner West Councillor Zoi Tsardoulias; the President of the Cretan Association of Sydney & NSW, Emmanuel Vitetzakis; the President of the Joint Committee for the Commemoration of the Battle of Crete, James Jordan; the President of the Cretan Federation of Australia and New Zealand, Tony Tsourdalakis; and Dr Stephen Townsend, Commander RAN Rtd.
As with any ball, there were official proceedings on the night such as one minute’s silence, a blessing by Bishop Christodoulos, and a number of speeches by Mr Vitetzakis, Mayor Byrne and the Lieutenant General. Gifts were then exchanged between the Cretan Association and the distinguished guests.
Afterwards, the musicians from Crete, Antonis Kourakis, Anastasis Bouchlis and Anastasios Georgakakis, with the support of Alexander Mountakis, played traditional Cretan music as the Cretan Association’s junior, intermediate and senior dancing groups performed.
The fantastic music and dance display was followed up by everyone in attendance taking to the dance floor and busting a move or two.
*All photos copyright The Greek Herald / Andriana Simos.
