On October 22, close to 600 guests attended the Centenary Gala Ball held in the Members Dining Room at Melbourne's iconic MCG. Some guests attended from interstate and as far away as Greece.
The night opened with an introduction by MC and fellow Ithacan Angela Pippos who told us a little bit about her own ancestral history from Ithaca. Our Vice President, Costa Kaimakamis, and Margarita Varigos, daughter of former President Nick Varigos and Rena Varigos also shared MC duties and it was wonderful to see our younger generation taking an active role in proceedings.
Special guest was the Greek Consul General, Christina Simantiraki, who gave a speech in Greek commending the Society for its achievements and respect of its heritage.
Greek band STROFES were a sensational choice and the dance floor was packed to capacity. The inimitable Olga Black and her cohort of dancers began the Greek dancing showing us how it's done. The crowd was also entertained by THE THREE TENORS who initially posed as waiters, fooling the crowd.
Congratulations to Kathy Koutsounis Tsaralikis who won the lucky door prize of a return trip to Greece flying Emirates, thanks to Spiros Alysandratos of Consolidated Travel Group. Other lucky draw prizes included two $500 vouchers from Hello World Oakleigh and TravelManagers.
The Silent Auction was a fantastic success, raising close to $8000 for the primary school in North Ithaca.
The Society would also like to thank the Iris Lucas family for their generosity in hosting the afterparty at The Spice Market where many continued the night of celebrations.
An event this significant and with hundreds of people in attendance takes years to plan and a tremendous amount of work was poured into its organisation. A big congratulations to Anna Vlass, the Ball Committee and the Executive Committee for staging such an unforgettable evening. Last, but by no means least, we thank our major sponsors, supporters and Silent Auction donors whose generous support was very much appreciated.
MAJOR SPONSORS
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SUPPORTERS
Armadale Pharmacy - Gerald Galatis Bagheera Enterprises - Andrew Black Hello World Oakleigh
Joannides Funerals Kim Petalas Penny Stansfield TravelManagers Stradbroke Dental - Dr Anna Paxinos