The culture and dance of the Greek island of Crete were on proud display at a cocktail party marking the official opening of the Cretan National Convention in Melbourne, Victoria on Thursday night.
The official opening of the Convention, which has been organised by the Cretan Federation of Australia and New Zealand (CFANZ), was held at the Cretan House in East Brunswick and was attended by over 200 guests including a number of officials and VIPs.
Among the officials were the Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Emmanuel Kakavelakis; Archbishop Makarios of Australia; Bishop Evmenios of Kerasounta; the President of the CFANZ, Tony Tsourdalakis; the President of the Cretan Brotherhood of Melbourne and host of the night, Milton Stamatakos; as well as many other delegates of Cretan associations across Australia and New Zealand.
Guests mingled amongst themselves at the start of the night and enjoyed finger food, before a number of speeches were given by Archbishop Makarios, Mr Kakavelakis, Mr Tsourdalakis and Mr Stamatakos.
Mr Stamatakos welcomed everyone to the Cretan House and stressed the important role Cretans have in maintaining the culture and traditions of Crete in Australia.
Next to speak was Archbishop Makarios who recited two Cretan ‘mantinades’ to the crowd and urged the Cretan community to “always remain united” and honour their parentage.
In his speech, Mr Kakavelakis congratulated the CFANZ and its President for organising a successful National Convention.
Last to speak was Mr Tsourdalakis who thanked everyone for attending the official opening and encouraged people to pass on the Cretan culture to the second and third generation. He also confirmed the Executive Committee of the CFANZ would remain in place for a further year.
At the conclusion of these official proceedings, Mr Tsourdalakis presented Archbishop Makarios with two small gifts.
Young dancing groups from the Cretan Association of Sydney & NSW and the Cretan Brotherhood of Melbourne then performed a number of dances for guests. Huge applause and cheers resonated across the room as everyone enjoyed watching the youth take pride in their Cretan identity.
