Panigyri of the Myrtidiotissa
2013 Review
The Kytherian Society of California
celebrated its 63nd annual
Panigyri of the Myrtidiotissa at
Resurrection Greek Orthodox Church on
September 29, 2013.
Following a wonderful service and Artoklasia by Fr. Michael Prevas, KSOCA members and friends met in the church hall for a fabulous lunch prepared by Yanni Varelas and his crew.
Everyone raved about the delicious meal. Yianni prepared Spanakopeta with his home made phillo, and guests were offered a choice of Greek Style Chicken with Olive Oil, Lemon, & Oregano, Greek Lamb Shank with Orzo, or Pasta Primavera for their entrée. Delicious galaktoboureko was served for dessert.
Welcome & Opening Prayer
The event began with an Opening Prayer by Fr. Michael Prevas, followed by opening remarks and welcome by President Katherine Stathis. The names of past members who were memorialized with donations were read aloud.
Once again this year our presentation featured a video slideshow by Dimitris Baltzis and friends from the ilovekythera.com website. Everyone loved viewing the beautiful photos from their beloved Kythera while enjoying their delicious meal. (Photos shown in left sidebar are also from Dimitris' collection.)
Watch the slideshow on YouTube as well as many other beautiful slideshows Dimitris has created and posted on the ilovekythera YouTube Channel.
Remembering Stamatoula
We honored the memory of our beloved member Stamatoula Mavromatis Chlentzos, who passed away on January 15, 2013 at the age of 106.
Stamatoula was an active member of the KSOCA since its inception over 63 years ago. For many of those years the bread for the Artoklasia services at our annual Panigyria was baked by our dear Stamatoula.
Everyone who knew Stamatoula knew she was a very special person with tremendous faith and love for her church and family. She is dearly missed by all.
Fr. Michael Prevas, Ted Leonis, and Vikki Fraioli shared some of their memorable moments with Stamatoula.
Click to view Memorial Pamphlet
Honorary Kytherian
The Honorarly Kytherian Award was presented to Fr. Michael Prevas. Fr. Michael has continually shown great support for the Kytherian Society.
We have been honored by his presence at our Panigyria and have been inspired by attending his church services.
The Eulogy he spoke at Stamatoula's Trisagion and Funeral Services were the most beautiful we have ever heard.
We thank you, Fr. Michael, for your continual love and support.
Click here to read a condensed version of Fr. Michael's Eulogy
Kythera News
The most exciting bit of Kythera News is the opening of the Kythera Municiapal Library.
In 2008, Cynthia Cavalenes-Jarvis spearheaded the Kythera Bookshelves Project where she raised over $10,000 to ship bookshelves to Kythera.
Cynthia collected donations from individuals, as well as 8 organizations, including the KSOCA, in order to fund her project.
In August of 2012, we were happy to see that the shelves had been assembled and filled with numerous books! The old elementary school in Kondolianika, had been converted into a library, but the library was still not operational.
In October of 2012, a library assistant was provided by the Greek Republic Department of Employment who worked along with volunteers to assist in establishing the library.
With the ongoing assistance of John Stathatos, Dimitris Koutrafouris and Friends of the Library Volunteers, the library is now open for everyone to use!
Cynthia was able to visit the library in July of 2013 and see it in motion.
A number of visitors and library supporters were also at the library that afternoon and a seemingly impromptu reception and informational session was conducted in which George Poulos gave a general description of the project and the landscaping plans.
He also asked that those who had helped orchestrate the development of the library tell about their involvement.
Cynthia explained her journey in the project after which John Stathatos and Dimitri Koutrafouris also told of their involvement and the importance of the library to the people of Kythera. Dimitri felt very strongly that the children, in particular, needed the library to strengthen their education and later compete successfully for seats at the university level.
During his speech John Stathatos presented Cynthia with a beautiful print of Spiro and Argiroula Kavalinis, her great grandparents, taken in 1927 which is part of the Fatseas Photographic Collection. The photo was printed by John Stathatos using the original glass plate from the collection.
Cynthia was also very honored to find that the Library Committee had included her on a list benefactors that was framed and prominently displayed in the library entry.
We are extremely proud of Cynthia Cavalenes-Jarvis for her persevering efforts to see this project to fruition.
The next order of business was completion of the landscaping for the library courtyard. The courtyard landscaping was designed by architect, Elias Vassiliadis and construction work was completed in only 16 days by Rafaat Khalil under the supervision of Yannis Schinas.
John Stathatos and George Poulos were there every step of the way, to assure all work was completed in the appropriate manner.
Below you can see a few before and after pictures of the back and side of the courtyard.
A reception was held at the library on August 19, 2013 where John Stathatos and George Poulos showcased the new Kythera Municipal Library and Courtyard to Kytherians from Australia, locals, as well as other visitors to the island. Mayor Theodoros Koukoulis expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in the project.
The presentation was video recorded by Adelin 107.3 FM and can be viewed on YouTube as well as below.
Funding for the courtyard was provided by the Aroney Trust, the Kytherian Association of Australia, the Kytherian Society of California ($2500.00) and personal donations by George Poulos. The KSOCA is proud to know that they played a small part in this endeavor.
As a token of appreciation, John Stathatos presented Vikki Fraioli with a beautiful print of Eleni Kalligerou, 1934, printed on Cartson paper from one of the original glass plates from the Fatseas Photographic Collection that is part of the Kythera Photographic Archive.
In addition to the donation to the libtary, the KSOCA made a donation to the Tryfylleion Foundation for the Kythera Nursing Home Kassimateion - Gerokomio. One of our own members made a personal donation of $250.00 and the KSOCA matched that donation for a total contribution of $500.
Once again the KSOCA is proud to know they have played a small part in contributing to their island of Kythera.
To keep up-to-date with the Kythera Municipal Library, "LIKE" their
page on FACEBOOK .
New Books
Vikki shared several pages from new books that are available that everyone will undoubtedly want to have as an addition to their library.
The Kytherian Surnames book - now available in English.
60 AUD (aproximately $57 US) (plus shipping)
For more information visit:
Kytherian World Heritage Fund Publishing House
Please keep in mind that shipping costs indicated on the
order form are for within Australia.
Contact George C. Poulos for information on shipping to the USA.
James Prineas' new book, "Kythera From The Air"
50 Euro or $68 US (plus shipping)
For more information contact James Prineas
In Search of Kythera & Antikythera, by Tzeli Hadjidimitriou
18 Euro
For more information visit:
www.odoiporikon.com or kythera-family.net
"One Year on Kythera" by Kristina Williamson
$50 (plus shipping)
Order directly from Kristina by visitng her website below:
The books will also be available in bookstores in Kythera.
Anastasia Conomos Condas Scholarship
The KSOCA is proud to report that $7000.00 in scholarships have been awarded since the program began in 2004.
This year Melissa presented the Anastasia Conomos Condas Scholarship awards to two recipients.
The first was awarded to Alexandra Alfieris, daughter of Harry Alfieris. Alex attends Modesto Jr. College where she is majoring in Liberal Studies, with a goal of completing an Elementary Teaching Credential.
The second scholarship was awarded to Katherine Jarvis, daughter of Cynthia Cavalenes-Jarvis & Ron Jarvis. Katherine attends California State University in San Jose where she is completing Masters in Science in Occupational Therapy.
The deadline for the 2014 Scholarship is July 1, 2014.
Click here to download an application
Auction
Many thanks go to Andrew and Niki Saffas who donated a beautiful framed print for our auction. The lucky winner was Elaine Moulos.
The KSOCA is extremely appreciative of Andy and Niki's continued willingness to donate Andy's wonderful photos and paintings for our auctions.
John Carvounnis Memorial Raffle
The event culminated with our famous raffle where everyone wins! In memory of our beloved member, we have renamed our raffle the John Carvounnis Memorial Raffle.
John so enjoyed overseeing the raffle each year, we saw it only fitting to name this raffle after him in his memory.
This year in addition to the prizes brought by members, we had wonderful gift certificates donated by two local restaurants; Dimitri'sTavern in Livermore, and Handerley Restaurant in San Francisco.
We were thrilled to have over 61 people in attendance and hope that next year brings even more attendees.
Please mark February 8, 2014 on your calendar. The Kathy & Andy Stathis will host a Pot Luck gathering at home in Livermore. More to follow.
Many thanks to everyone for their hard work in organizing, attending, and making this event a successful one.
Click to see photos from the Panigyri
Watch Highlights from the Panigyri on YouTube or click the video below
