The Pancretan Association of Melbourne hosted its annual dinner dance last Saturday, commemorating the 148th anniversary of the Holocaust of the Arkadi Monastery, with great success.
The night began with a welcoming speech by Rena Fragioudakis, who highlighted this little known historical event, the Holocaust of Arkadi, as a significant date in Hellenic history.
The Holy Monastery of Arkadi is one of Crete’s most acclaimed symbols of freedom, where hundreds of people perished in the fight against the Turks, trying to unite Crete with the rest of Greece.
After receiving Father George Adamakis’ blessings, Michalis Houdalakis, president of the Cretan Federation in Australia and New Zealand, and John Nikolakakis, president of the association, sparked off the celebrations with an original mandinada, specially written for the occasion.
International Cretan musicians took to the stage, with Nikos Manioudakis (lyra & vocals) and Kostas Alexakis (laouto), together with Antonis Xylouris, giving a mesmerising performance.
The night wasn’t complete without some traditional dance performances from the junior, intermediate and senior dance groups of the association, supervised by dance teacher Mary Vasilakis.