Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation Election Ceremony Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church April 24, 2023
Each year the newly elected members of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation (CCGF) board of directors is sworn in at a ceremony at a different ethnic location. CCGF president Dr. Wael Khoury welcomed the crowd of about 150 which included representation from almost 30 of the Gardens.
Dr. Wael Khoury
Thanks to new board member Lou Frangos and his wife Ann the venue in 2023 was the hall of the beautiful and historic Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland.
Ann and Lou Frangos
As Lou Frangos said in his welcoming remarks, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church was the first Greek Orthodox Church founded in Cleveland, Ohio. It is considered the "Mother Church" of the Greek community in Cleveland.
People of Greek heritage primarily began to migrate to the United States of America in the late 1800s. With over five thousand Greek-born residents by 1920, Cleveland had one of the largest Greek communities in Ohio. In 1910, Cleveland's Greeks established the first Greek Orthodox congregation in the city. This group would eventually become the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church.
In 1912, Greeks established a formal church at the corner of West 14th Street and Fairfield Avenue in the heart of Greek Town, a predominantly Greek ethnic neighborhood. As the congregation grew, the church members replaced the original structure with the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. Although not yet completed, the church held its first services in the new structure in 1919.
Watch longtime parishioner and Greek community leader Lou Frangos speak about the Church at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation event in the video below.
The Church has an active dance group ranging in age from 4 years old through high school. Some of the senior dancers performed at the Gardens event. Here are a few short videos of their performances starting with a dance from the Greek island of Chios.
Next was a dance from Smyrna which was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia.
Another short dance from the Seniors group.
This last dance was a line and then circle dance.
During dinner, there was entertainment from a Greek band.
After dinner, the newly elected members of the board of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation were introduced by CCGF past-president Sheila Murphy Crawford.
They were then sworn in by Retired Judge Ralph Perk Jr. .
Pierre Bejjani, Bob Crawford, Suzelle Aghamalian, Judge Perk, Tom Turkaly, Dr. Wael Khoury, Mehmet Gencer and Lou Frangos
They were then joined by the entire board of the Federation for a photo.
CCGF Board
Watch the video of the swearing in ceremony.
Dr. Wael Khoury and CCGF Executive Director Lori Ashyk gave updates on the Gardens and then there was a raffle and more socializing.
Lori Ashyk and Dr. Wael Khoury
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