Melbourne’s Cretan community gathered at the Cretan House in East Brunswick on Friday, February 24 to enjoy a final show by Cretan musician, Nikos Karkanis.
Karkanis flew into Australia earlier this month to attend the Cretan Paniyiri at Peats Ridge by the Cretan Association of Sydney & New South Wales.
His final live show in Melbourne was organised by the Cretan Brotherhood of Melbourne and Victoria and saw hundreds of Cretans, both young and old, gather at the hall to enjoy his music.
There were also a number of official guests in attendance including the Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Emmanuel Kakavelakis; the President of the Cretan Federation of Australia and New Zealand (CFANZ), Tony Tsourdalakis; the President of the Cretan Brotherhood of Melbourne and Victoria, Milton Stamatakos; the President of the Cretan Association of Sydney & NSW, Emmanuel Vitetzakis; the President of the Greek Community of Canberra (GCC), John Loukadellis; and the Vice President of the GCC, Pana Tsironis; among many others.
Every guest witnessed traditional Cretan dance performances on the night, and also enjoyed a sit-down meal. Mr Tsourdalakis also presented awards to Karkanis and his band, as well as dance instructors Sifi Viglakis and Eleftheria Manioudakis from Crete.