GRANITE CITY, Ill.—On Nov. 19, the Granite City “Antranig” AYF Chapter hosted its annual November dance at St. Gregory Armenian Community Center. The dance attracted Armenians from around the St. Louis metro area who came together for a night of music and dancing.
The Nigosian Band from Detroit drove down to play for us. A long-time community favorite, the Nigosians always provides the crowd with a great mix of traditional and upbeat music.
This year’s dance brought in a lot of young people, mostly AYF members and their friends. We had guests come in from Chicago and Carbondale, Ill., to join us on this special night.
For the first time ever, the AYF held a silent auction at the dance. AYF members and their families contributed donations to the table, which featured items like an Armenian rug, an Armenian soccer jersey, sporting event tickets, and much more. The auction was a huge success, and the chapter looks forward to bringing it back in the future.
As is tradition, dance attendees enjoyed a delicious mezze spread. Every year, the chapter reaches out to an AYF parent to organize soliciting donations for the food. Our community members and church organizations (the ARS, Ladies’ Guild, etc.) are always quick to help in any way they can. The same goes for our bartenders, who also volunteer their time at the dance.
The “Antranigs” are pleased with the success of this year’s dance, especially because our chapter is experiencing growth. In September, we swore in three new Junior members, and a few others expressed interest in joining the chapter at the dance.
The November dance is our chapter’s biggest fundraiser of the year, and the profits go to activities we do in the next year. Thank you to everyone for their support!
Michelle Hagopian is the president of the Granite City ‘Antranig’ AYF chapter.
Michelle Hagopian
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