A Visit to the DCGreeks.com Mailbag:
What's the deal with Magkes & Koukles? 

With a little less than three weeks to go, a lot of people have been asking for more details on Magkes & Koukles, our fundraising party to benefit the new community center that they are building at St. Katherine's in Falls Church, VA. The main question asked by many visitors to our site and others who have heard of this event is, "Who are the bachelors and bachelorettes going to be?" We're answering that question by unveiling our Magkes & Koukles and their date packages on the site sometime this week. But there are still some other questions that we've either received in person or on email, so we'll try to get to as many of them as we can in our visit to the DCGreeks.com Mailbag: What's the deal with Magkes & Koukles? 

Who all is going to be at this event? Will I know anyone there? (G.P., F, Bethesda, MD)

We are expecting over 400 people at this event. As far as who will be there, we know that most of our DCGreeks.com members will be there. That's over 160 people as of today. Then you can throw in most everyone who goes to Third Thursday, which is another 80 people you can add to the total. Considering a few Third Thursday regulars are participating as Magkes & Koukles, most everyone is bound to show up to support their friends. We also hope to see many of the young adults from St. Katherine's, St. George's, St. Sophia's, and Sts. Constantine & Helen, which easily adds another 100 people to the crowd. Despite the fact that this fundraiser is helping St. Katherine's new building, this is truly an event for the whole DC Greek Community. In fact, almost anyone who has ever been pictured in our Photo section will probably be there as well. 

But wait, there's more! You can add to this list most of the GW Kosmos Club, considering that they have 4 bachelors and bachelorettes participating, so that's at least another 30 people. By adding the college kids from all the local colleges, including all the DC schools, Maryland, UVa, and JMU, you get at least another 40 people. And we haven't begun to count the people from Baltimore who are coming to support their two bachelorettes, and the people from the Norfolk and Virginia Beach areas, who never miss a good party, and then other out-of-towners who have heard about this event. So this is how you get to at least 400 people if not more. 

To give everyone a visual, take the crowd of the YAL Dance over YAL Weekend, and add that to the young adult crowd of the Laconian Dance, New Year's Eve, and a good Greek Night, and you come up with who we are trying to attract for this fundraiser. This is a fundraiser for all the Greek young adults in the DC area and we feel that with the live Greek band, the American DJ, the Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction, and the Silent Auction, there'll be something there for everyone. 

Isn't this Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction a little inappropriate? (R.A., F, Unknown)

It's all harmless fun really. These are completely PG-rated dates. There are no hotel rooms, no overnight stays, nothing that anyone should make anyone nervous. Several charities, including Multiple Sclerosis , have bachelor/bachelorette auctions every year, and they are a huge success. This is just something we offered to make this event different from any Greek Dance or Greek Night you would normally attend. We told a couple of members of the fundraising committee at St. Katherine's about this and once they understood the idea, they didn't have a problem with it. In fact, a bachelor/bachelorette auction is just the thing this community needs to put some excitement back into dating your fellow Greeks.

What is the State Theatre? How big is this place? What makes this place so special? (M.E., M, Silver Spring, MD)

The State Theatre is perhaps the most unique place that a Greek event has ever taken place in DC. It is a premiere facility for concerts and shows in the area. We've reserved the whole place for the evening. There will be nothing but Magkes & Koukles at the State Theatre that evening. (We would put it on the marquee outside, but it costs extra, and since this is for charity, we're not going to get ahead of ourselves.) The State Theatre is big enough to house 1100 people, so with even half that that many people inside it's not going to be cramped like a lot of places Greeks hang out. It has a huge stage, two dance floors, and state-of-the-art sound and lights, spanning two floors and the upper level balcony which houses the old theatre seats from back in the day when it was a real working movie theatre. (This is the same theatre where we saw Empire Strikes Back when we were kids.) You'll leave the State Theatre asking yourself why no one has ever had a Greek event there before. 

I don't think I could ever see myself bidding on any of these bachelors? Should I still come? (V.S., F, Falls Church, VA)

Of course you should. If you're married, engaged, in a relationship, or just not interested in going on a date with any of our bachelors, you still can't miss this event. It's like watching reality television-- you know you'd never do any of these things or be on any of these shows, but you can't stop staring. You'll at least know one of the 18 people who are going to be our Magkes & Koukles. Aren't you the least bit curious to see who they end up with? These kinds of opportunities for intrigue and suspense all wrapped up in the course of one evening don't come around that often in the Greek community. 

Who is this Apocalypsis Band? Where would I have seen them before? Who's this Xristoforos guy? (S.S., M, Washington, DC)

You would have most recently seen Apocalypsis and Xristoforos at the New Year's Eve Glenti in Tysons Corner. The guys in Apocalypis go by several different names but they are basically the same band that plays at many Greek festivals around the DC area, Alekos Taverna, and other Greek Tavernas, as well as some of the area dinner-dances, including the upcoming Pan-Cyprian. As for Xristoforos, he comes from a multi-Platinum singing career in Greece, whose voice compares with many legendary Greek singers. We're lucky to be able to bring you a live Greek band for this event and certainly the stage at the State Theatre will provide the perfect backdrop for this performance. 

What time should I get to this thing if I want to bid on Koukles? (B.G., M, Virginia Beach, VA)

The doors open at 8:30. Our Magkes & Koukles will be there on time to get a chance to let you get to know them. Don't be shy, go up and say hi. This is your chance to get to know these wonderful people on a personal level before the auction itself starts. How will you be able to separate the Magkes & Koukles from the rest of the beautiful people there? They'll each be wearing a number to make it easier for people to spot them until the auction closes. 

The introduction of the Magkes & Koukles will start around 10:30. We'll bring up each Magka and Koukla on stage and ask them a couple of questions and have them say a little bit about themselves and their date package. Once this is over, you'll have until around 12:15 to bid on these people and their date packages, with the winners being announced around 12:30. The bidding will take place silent auction style in the lobby of the State Theatre. Your ticket number will serve as your bid number to place on the bidding sheet, which will certainly make the bidding fast-paced and exciting for all. 

Anything cool I can pick up at the silent auction? (E.P., M, Arlington, VA)

We've gathered, and will spent the next three weeks continuing to gather, some really great items from all around the DC area. In the mood to see Michael Jordan and the Wizards play up close at MCI Center? Well, the way they've been playing lately, good luck trying to get a ticket. All the good seats are all sold out. But thanks to the donations of a few generous people and businesses, we've got great seats for Wizards, Caps and other sporting events. Is there a nice restaurant you've been meaning to try out, but don't want to spend that kind of money? We've got gift certificates to some of the area's best restaurants that you can pick up for a fraction of their retail value. We'll be releasing our silent auction list at the beginning of next week.

Man, it sounds like you guys went to a lot of trouble to organize all this? Is there anything I can do to help? (Various people)

We won't lie to you. We have gone to a lot of trouble in organizing this fundraiser. A party this big with all the items we needed to get for the date packages and the silent auction takes months to organize. In the next three weeks, we will do whatever we can to make this a successful fundraiser for St. Katherine's Building Fund, but also make it one memorable party. We wanted to give you all something fun, something different, something exciting -- a chance for all Greek young adults, regardless of whether they are from DC, Maryland, or Virginia, in school, or out of school, under-21 or over-21, to come together in the spirit of parea and friendship. All we have to say is that no matter what happens, we'll be relieved on February 3rd. 

There's one simple thing you can do to help us and St. Katherine's Building fund. Come to Magkes & Koukles on Saturday, February 2nd and have a good time. Even if you're not interested in bidding on any one of our Magkes or Koukles or buying anything in our silent auction, come for the music, the good times and the laughs that you'll share with all your friends. Buy your ticket as soon as you can, and tell your friends to come. Even if you think your friends already know about this event, mention it to them anyway. The more people that come, the more fun it will be for everyone and more importantly St. Katherine's comes one step closer to completing their new community center that's been badly needed for years. We hope to see you there. 

Read past feature articles.