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88th AHEPA Supreme Convention Goes North of the Border July 7, 2010
There are many reasons to be optimistic about this year's AHEPA Supreme Convention reestablishing itself as a destination event for Greek American young adults. After several years of inaccessible, unaffordable, or uninspired destinations, Montreal serves as the backdrop for this year's event which officially begins next Monday with events geared toward young adults sponsored by AHEPA, the Sons of Pericles and Maids of Athena spread throughout the week. in Montreal should benefit from timing, location, and for once the lack of anything else going on in the Greek community nationally. Every couple of years the AHEPA Convention and the Clergy Laity would be in danger of overlapping and the scheduling of the National YAL Conference once every two years would leave many Greek-American young adults with little money and less time a difficult choice as to where to go. (Two years ago a number of young adults came to DC for the National YAL Conference instead of going to Athens for the AHEPA Convention.) The Archdiocese's decision last year to not have a National YAL Convention in Atlanta this year during the biennial Clergy Laity Congress which kicked off this past weekend in Atlanta leaves the AHEPA Convention as the only national event happening for the rest of this summer. AHEPA was also wise enough at its Supreme Convention last year in San Francisco to realize the difficulty of scheduling its Convention for the July 4th weekend, actually legislating a move back toward the latter part of July in the future. While there was no way for the folks at AHEPA to predict the 100 degree weather much of the country will be experiencing this week, even the thought of being in Canada right now will be a welcome change for most. Montreal will also be the first chance for the convention to benefit from a sizeable local Greek community which will hopefully translate to a larger young adult attendance regardless. This will also be the most affordable Supreme Convention in a couple of years as attendees won't have to deal with an overinflated Euro (Athens 2008) or traveling to and staying in one of the country's most expensive cities (San Francisco 2009), as the US Dollar is actually worth more in Canada ($1 US = $1.07 Canadian) than in any place AHEPA has had a convention in years. (By the way, the drinking age in Montreal is 18, which means an increased college crowd likely showing up for this event.) From a look at the week's itinerary it seems that this Supreme Convention will have more to offer socially than some prior conventions, with every evening featuring something different from AHEPA, eveFrom a look at the week's itinerary it seems that this Supreme Convention will have more to offer socially than some prior conventions, with every evening featuring something different from AHEPA, even before adding the Sons & Maids offerings to the line-up. Too often AHEPA conventions suffer from the same problem that many multi-day hotel-based conventions suffer from – too many events in the same hotel ballroom on back to back nights that don't vary from a standard format of food + live band = empty ballroom. The organizers of this convention have gone to great lengths to mix up the hotel with the off-site events and the themes of those events that do take place at the hotel. Monday night's opening ceremonies take place at Montreal's City Hall. Tuesday night features a Greek Glendi and Casino Night at the hotel with a Texas Hold 'Em Tournament. Wednesday Night's Grand Ball will debut a ballroom dance competition. In truly a break from the hotel event monotony, a French-Canadian BBQ and Greek Glendi featuring a lamb and pig roast, likely the highlight of the week, will occur some 40 minutes away from the hotel at an authentic maple sugar shack, which means there will be maple syrup and maple sugar on everything. (I'm likely to channel Vince Vaughn's rant on maple syrup from Wedding Crashers by the end of the night.) The last AHEPA offering is the Grand Banquet on Friday night, leaving Saturday night and the balance of the after-hours events to the Sons and Maids. The quasi-European atmosphere of Montreal coupled with its large Greek population and drinking age of 18 should help make the Sons and Maids After-Hours events the best in years. Before the slate of after-hours events begin though, the Maids of Athena will offer up a "Date Mixer" on Wednesday night. In a much more inclusive take on the traditional speed dating event that admittedly can flop in an such an environment, the Maids are easing participants into the evening by setting up practical age categories and allowing for those already in relationships to participate for the mere benefit of social and professional networking. Thursday night will feature a Greek Night at Mythos, a spacious Greek restaurant and bar, followed by a Club Night at Ivy on Friday night. Saturday night, long after the rest of the AHEPA Supreme Convention attendees have departed, the Sons and Maids will host the final Greek Night of the weekend as an Absolut Disco at the hotel. But before Saturday night's Greek Night begins, the Sons of Pericles will present Montreal's own (and PHW 2009 headliner) comedian Angelo Tsarouchas Live for only $25 Canadian to benefit the ALS Association and the Cyprus Children's Fund. The best way for non-Sons/Maids to enjoy these events are through the purchase of an After Hours Package at $45 for the three Greek/Club Nights. (These events are otherwise $20 at the door. The Maids Date Mixer is a separate donation of $15 benefitting the Maids' National Project, Penelope House.) For more information on the AHEPA Supreme Convention including hotel accommodations visit: http://ahepa.org/dotnetnuke/About/SupremeConvention.aspx |
