STATEN ISLAND, NY – ‘Kritiki Filoxenia’ of Staten Island hosted its annual picnic on June 6.
In the courtyard of Holy Trinity-St. Nicholas Church, visitors enjoyed traditional Cretan food, were entertained with live music by musicians Michalis Mavroudis and Antonis Marmatakis on the laouto and Yiannis Mandas on the lyra, while the dance groups impressed with their performance and energy.
‘Kritiki Filoxenia’ President Nicholas Yasparakis spoke to The National Herald, warmly thanking the guests for their presence, as well as all the sponsors and volunteers for their contributions.
He said: “Our annual picnic is not just an opportunity for food and fun, but the connecting link that keeps us united.”
“We are given the opportunity to all come together in a festive spirit, for delicious food and sweets, live music, spending pleasant hours, and thus welcoming summer,” Yasparakis noted. “Our association attaches great importance to the youth and the fact that we have so many children fills us with joy and optimism.”
The ‘Kritiki Filoxenia’ children’s dance group. Photo: TNH/Michael Kakias
“We invite all the Greek-American community to our big annual dance that will take place on October 3 at St. Sylvester Church in Staten Island,” Yasparakis added. “I wish everyone a good and relaxing summer.”
Manolis Vlastakis, a founding member of the association, referred to the important cultural work that has been carried out for decades and expressed his joy and pride in the active participation of so many people, especially young people.
“We founded the club in 1992 here in Staten Island with six people and today we have over 250 members and most of them are young people,” he noted. “We have 65 children in the dance program, while the entire Board of Directors is made up of young people with an appetite for contribution and new ideas.”
“They took over the reins from us parents and this fills us with pride that we achieved our goal which was to spread our Cretan heritage to the new generation,” Vlastakis said.