Events for Eleftherios Venizelos in Montreal (Canada).

A series of events in the honor of Eleftherios Venizelos was held in Montreal (April 2nd - 5th), a city where approximately 65.000 Greeks live and work today.
The events were organised by the Cretan Association of Montreal, the General Consulate of Greece in Montreal and the National Research Foundation “Eleftherios K. Venizelos”.
The Foundation was represented in the events by the Prefect of Hania, Grigoris Arhontakis and the Mayor of Hania, Kiriakos Virvidakis (Vice Chairmen of the Foundation), as well as the CEO, Nikolaos Papadakis, the Special Secretary, Eleftherios Tsourakis, the representative of Pancretan America and member of the Board of Directors, Emmanouil Spanoudakis, the President of the Commercial Chamber and member of the Board of Directors, Evaggelos Spanoudakis, the President of the Association “Fellows of the National Research Foundation 'Eleftherios K. Venizelos'”, Georgios Pisadakis, the members of the Association, Emmanouil Kalogeris and Sifis Markakis, and the Head Secretary of the Foundation, Aristea Xanthoudaki.
The events were also attended by a delegation of the Greek Parliament, consisting of the MPs  Kostas Badouvas and Manolis Stratakis.
With the presence of hundreds of Cretans, the events started on Thursday, April 2nd, at the private parlour of the Cretan Association, where the delegates of the Foundation and the Parliament were received, in an atmosphere reminding of Crete.
On Friday, April 3rd, a formal reception took place at the City Hall of Montreal, as well as the signature of the Municipality's Golden Guest Book. In the afternoon, the formal welcoming of the delegates was held at the Centre of the Hellenic Community of Montreal. It is a large group of buildings, consisting of the Cathedral of Saint George, a ceremony hall for 1000 persons, the Community offices and the “small Parliament”, an exact copy of the House of Commons, where  the conferences of the Greek Community's Board of Directors and Executive Committee are held. Furthermore, the Community disposes of 3 Greek Orthodox churches, two community sports centres in the centre and at the south coast of Montreal, two senior's residences, as well as numerous Greek newspapers and Greek-speaking radio & television stations. At the press conference organised on the occasion of the events, the President of the Community, Vasilios Balabanos referred to the great contribution of the Community in Canada and to the Socrates School which is recognised  by the Ministry of Education of Quebec, and consists of 4 campuses offering trilingual education (French, Greek, English) to 1.200 students. The President of the Cretan Association of Montreal, Tasos Vamianakis, the Professor at the McGill University of Montreal, Dr Antonis Rodolakis, the Consul General of Greece in Montreal, Maria Karnoutsou, as well as the delegates of the Greek Parliament, the Vice Chairmen and the CEO of the Foundation also spoke at the press conference.
A photograph and publications exhibition was inaugurated, containing exclusive material kindly offered for the exhibition by the National Research Foundation “Eleftherios K. Venizelos”.
The 47th dance of the Cretan Association of Montreal was held on Saturday, and the event was attended by the delegations of the Foundation and the Parliament, in a festive and familiar Cretan atmosphere. The dinner was accompanied by a music band from Crete, and the dance groups of the Cretan Association of Montreal consisting of numerous children and young people of the age of 5-25 years old were quite impressive. Many members of the dance groups are third or fourth generation Greeks and speak Greek fluently.
On Sunday, April 5th, a commemorative ceremony was held at the Church of Saint George, with the presence of a honorary delegation and a flag of the Cretan Association. An open reception followed, with food and drinks for all the Greek Community, generously offered by the Greek Community of Montreal and the Consulate General of Greece in Montreal. The MPs K. Badouvas and M. Stratakis, the President of the Greek Community V. Balabanos, the Vice Chairmen of the Foundation G. Arhontakis and K. Virvidakis, the President of the Commercial Chamber of Chania E. Spanoudakis and the President of the Fellows Association G. Pisadakis gave short speeches. A focused and enlightening speech by the CEO of the Foundation Nikos Papadakis followed: after thanking the aforementioned speakers that referred to the era and the work of Eleftherios Venizelos, he focused on the significance of Crete in the formation of the political personality of the Statesman and the impact of his foreseeing decisions in Europe, decisions that reduced the bloodshed of the First World War and led Greece, a country of minor territorial importance that was diplomatically excommunicated until then, to become a substantial regional force in the area of the East Mediterranean. The organisers of Montreal and the Greek delegation also exchanged presents. The event was coordinated by Vasilis Pontikakis.
In the afternoon, a reception was held at the Consular Residence, as a kind offer of the Consul General of Greece in Montreal, Maria Karnoutsou, and the Foundation offered all the guests commemorative gifts.
The attendance of the Greeks of Montreal was massive. The exhibited material of the Foundation intrigued all the visitors and the mass media of Montreal paid special attention to N. Papadakis who presented the research and educational activities of the Foundation. Everyone repeatedly remarked the admirably harmonious and unimpeded cooperation of the organisers. Finally, the Foundation, as well as the Greek Community and the Cretan Association expressed their common wish to establish a branch of the National Research Foundation “Eleftherios K. Venizelos” in Montreal.