TENAFLY, NJ – The annual Taverna Night of the St. John the Theologian community in Tenafly NJ, which took place on October 1, was a huge success.
Hundreds of community members and friends were present at the Fr. Socrates Tsamutalis Cultural Center, where they had a fun time dancing to live music by the Stavros Theodorou Band and enjoyed delicious traditional food and appetizers, while children’s entertainment was also provided.
The community’s head priest, Fr. Peter Zougras, expressed to The National Herald the joy he feels seeing so many people honoring the Feast Day of St. John.
“It is truly a blessing to have so many people with us. A big thank you to the Parish Council, the ladies of the Philoptochos and the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), which helped organize this very beautiful evening. Everyone worked together nicely and lovingly. We are approximately 600 families and we all feel that we belong to a family, and this is the great asset and blessing of our community. Also a very big thank you to all our sponsors who offered whatever was necessary for the evening’s success.
“I would like to point out that all the proceeds from the event will go towards replacing the church’s air conditioning units which are in constant need of repairs,” Fr. Zougras noted.
Parish Council President Philip Philliou in turn thanked all the volunteers, sponsors, and all those who honored the event with their presence. “I grew up in this community and I am very happy because I see that it is constantly growing and progressing. More and more families are becoming members of our church.
“About 300 people, including 40 young children, are here with us today to have fun and that gives us pleasure because our community does not only have a wonderful present, but an outstanding future as well,” Philliou emphasized.
Dr. Marinos Lilikas, Parish Council member and co-chair of the event, pointed out to TNH that for the past seven years the community has honored St. John the Theologian with this great event which, as he noted, has two purposes: to honor the Apostle John while giving all community members the chance to get together after the summer and to have fun and enjoy themselves, as a family.
Philoptochos Society President Stella Baker noted that all the society members worked hard for the evening’s success, and pointed out that the dishes and sweets were donated and prepared by the community members.
PTO president Stephanie Karlis stated that in order for the event to be the most successful, they set up a special space where small children were entertained by clowns, a magician and many other activities.
Referring to the community’s school, she expressed her joy because, as she noted, it is an excellent Greek school that operates on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays with 150 students, while there is also the Sunday Church School, scouting programs and many other youth activities.
Lastly, musician Stavros Theodorou expressed his great pleasure and honor on behalf of all the band members who took part in this celebration, and wished that next year Taverna Night will be as successful as it was this year. “A big thank you to the board for giving us the great honor of being responsible for this evening’s entertainment, and we look forward to having the entire Greek-American community come and have fun with us at the Cathedral’s big New Year’s party here in Tenafly,” he said.
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