A record number of people attended the Pontian Dance and Mouhapet Thanksgiving Weekend in Philadelphia. The Black Sea Chapter Akritai of Philadelphia, established in 1939 (Americas oldest Black Sea organization for Greeks of Pontos) held it’s 72nd Annual Dance. Headlined by famed singer Yiannis Kourtidis of Greece, the weekend was kicked off with a traditional social gathering held at the club house on Friday night, known as a “mouhapet”.
Starting in the evening, the social gathering at the club house continued through in to the morning hours. Hosted at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, just a few blocks away, it seemed like the party never stopped as it played to a full hall on Saturday evening. Sister organizations from all over the North America and even a few people from Greece attended the largest dance held in years.