Children in traditional costumes delighted the members and friends of the Pontian Society ‘Komninoi’ who filled the Astoria Manor catering hall for the society’s 50^th anniversary dinner-dance on February 7. Guests also enjoyed performances by musicians from Greece and the Society.

The person most responsible for founding the society was Dr. George Efthimiades, who was very much loved among the Pontian immigrants of New York in the mid 1960’s.

The first influx of Pontian Greeks came after 1963 from Attiki and Macedonia in Greece. The nostalgia for their mother land led them to find other Pontians and together decided to organize a society (silogos) to bring their culture, music, Pontian dialect and traditions together.

In August 1965, the founding members met for the first time at the Bohemian Hall in Astoria, elected a temporary board and decided to name their newly formed society “Komninoi”.

The founding members were: Dr. George Efthimiades, Kiriakos Lazarides, Ioannis Papadopoulos, Panagiotis Emertziades, Basilios Boutzalis, Panagiotis Cholides, Anestis Papadopoulos, George Emertziades, Eleftherios Eleftheriadis, Stefanos Papadopoulos, Michael Iordanidis, Manolis Papadopoulos, Harry Stefanidis, Ioannis Christoforides, George Stavrianidis and Christos Mellisidis.