jgoble(a)ascsa.org
Subject: Gennadius Library Clean Monday Benefit
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jane Conlon Goble jgoble(a)ascsa.org (609) 683-0800 ext. 14
January 19, 2007
Benefiting the Gennadius Library…7th Annual Clean Monday Celebration
The Ambassador of Greece to the United States, Alexandros Mallias, and his
wife, Françoise, will join the friends of Athens' Gennadius Library on
February 19 to celebrate Clean Monday, "Kathari Deftera," at Estiatorio
Milos in New York City to mark the end of Carnival and beginning of the
Lenten season. The event features a unique Lenten cuisine prepared under
the direction of Milos' famed Costas Spiliades.
In Greece, Clean Monday is one of the most festive holidays of the year.
Often coinciding with the first hints of spring, the day lures children
and their parents into the countryside to fly kites and to feast on
special Lenten fare prepared without the use of meat, dairy products or
fish (except for fish roe, shellfish, octopus and squid). Cuttlefish
stewed in wine, rice pilaf with mussels, varieties of bean stews and
salads, squid stuffed with spinach and rice, Lenten dolmades and halva,
and the once-a-year appearance of lagana, a yeastless bread, are among the
unique tastes of the day, often accompanied by joyous music and dancing.
Since 2001, the Gennadius Library has brought the celebration of this
traditional Greek holiday to New York City.
The Library is one of Greece's national treasures. Its 113,000 rare books
and bindings, research materials, manuscripts, archives, and works of art
illuminate Hellenism, Greece, and neighboring civilizations from antiquity
to modern times. Opened in 1926, the Library began with the collection of
diplomat and bibliophile, John Gennadius, who presented some 26,000
volumes and archives to the American School of Classical Studies at Athens
to house and to make accessible to the public. Since then, it has added
87,000 volumes, the collection spanning the breadth of post-antique
Hellenic civilization. In fulfillment of the vision of John Gennadius
himself, and with the help of many people in Greece and the United States,
the Library has become "a world center for the study of Greek history,
literature, and art, both ancient, Byzantine, and modern."
Ten years ago the Gennadeion Trustees embarked on the first Campaign for
the Gennadius Library, with the support of distinguished men and women in
Greece and in the United States. This Campaign raised funds to renovate
and expand the historic Main Building; construct a new auditorium; build
endowment; and initiate new programs in preservation, access and outreach.
Now, the Trustees are launching a second Campaign, to raise funds for
critical needs including acquisitions, conservation, digitalization, and
education; and to expand exhibition and study space.
The Clean Monday celebration, will begin at 6:30 with an open buffet
serving traditional Clean Monday foods. Gregory Maninakis and the
Mikrokosmos Ensemble will present music of Hadzidakis, Theodorakis, and
others, for listening and for dancing.
Open-seating tickets are $300 per person and must be reserved and paid for
in advance. In addition, a limited number of reserved tables are
available. Some junior tickets are available at $100. For invitations,
tickets and information, call the U.S. office of the Gennadius Library at
(609) 683-0800 ext. 14. Estiatorio Milos is located at 125 West 55th
Street. The 2007 Zagat Survey lauds Milos' impeccable Greek cooking with
fish just pulled from the sea. Website:
www.milos.ca.
-------------------------------------------------------
June Samaras
KALAMOS BOOKS
(For Books about Greece)
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : kalamosbooks(a)gmail.com
(or) kalamosbks(a)aol.com
www.kalamosbooks.com
--
June Samaras
KALAMOS BOOKS
(For Books about Greece)
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : kalamosbooks(a)gmail.com
www.kalamosbooks.com