Upper Darby, PA – It was a Pontian Thanksgiving weekend in Philadelphia. The Akritai hosted it’s annual dance at Saint Demetrios church in Upper Darby. With lights dialed down low, the Greek community showed up on Friday night at the local club house first, for a traditional Mouhapet.
Pontian musicians, Babis Kemanetzidis and Stathis Pavlidis from Thessaloniki Greece were the featured artists. Their duet for the weekend had the dance floor filled and shaking as they played into the morning hours. They were also accompanied by brothers Evangelos Poneres on Lyra and Christos Poneres on Daouli. The brothers who hail from from Baltimore and are members of the Akritai chapter.
Mega band, Atlantis of Philadelphia set the tone early, that was followed by traditional folk dancing by the Akritai dance group. After a short presentation of plaques to Kemanetzidis and Pavlidis, the community joined hands on the dance floor. The duet played traditional Pontian music throughout the night.