Opa! Huge crowd for St. Spyridon festival

Food is only part of the attraction at the annual Greek celebration.

At the grill making pork and lamb shishkabobs, from left, Angelo Pateras, Ike Iacovangelo, Moe Galis, Franks Ruscin, Clark Landgraff and Jim Georgagis. Jeff Helsel / MVI

St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of Monessen drew another huge crowd Friday for its annual “Savor the Flavors of Greece” food festival.

St. Spyridon Church President Ronalyn Apodiakos said volunteers faced non-stop customers from the time the festival opened at 11 a.m.

“There are no words that you can even use to describe,” she said. “When dinner comes, we’re bursting at the seams. It’s not even just local support in the Mon Valley. It’s extended.

Vickie and Michael Apodiakos prepare loukoumades, the Greek version of donuts. Jeff Helsel / MVI

Ben Galis, 6, of Coal Center, waves the flag of Greece while standing on a table during a traditional Greek dance. Jeff Helsel / Mon Valley Independent

“Sometimes our festival overlaps with another Orthodox one in a neighboring state. But the Greeks in general will come to support us as well.”

The festival was overflowing with food options to try, along with drinks and pastries, offering a wide variety of choices. Lines formed throughout the event.

Some of the more popular pastries, such as baklava and galaktoboureko, got a lot of attention from customers. There were multiple options inside the Hellenic Center, along with gyros and baklava sundae outside.

Father Meletios Giannodis sits with members of the church.

Although the main event was the food, the festival also included music from Ta Filarakia and entertainment by the St. Spyridon Greek Dancers.

The festival had around 50 sponsors, and Apodiakos said they’re a great help in putting the event together.

“It helps out a great deal, because it offsets a lot of our operating costs in relation to, like, paper products,” she said, “And to start our food class at the beginning.”

All proceeds from the festival go to the church to help cover operating costs.

Gina Ivan and her father, Don, were among those enjoying the Greek food. It was Don’s first time there, but Gina said she’s visited the festival for several years.

“The spanakopita is my favorite, and baklava,” Gina said. “Later on, around seven, they have all the kids do a dance. That’s really cool to watch as well.”

Lori Taylor-King of Charleroi and Andrea Jones of Monessen said they had to make it to the festival. Taylor-King and Jones agreed that the food festival is an important cultural event.

“It’s important to keep up the culture, everybody’s culture, and it comes through to our food and our dance,” Jones said. “So we have to appreciate that and that’s why I always come here and I enjoy the food, love it. I’ve known most of the people who were raised here in Monessen.”

The festival formerly covered three days, but it has been reduced to just one. Taylor-King and Jones said that encouraged them to come out to catch it before it’s gone.

Jim Gorgagis, a long-time volunteer for the event, recounted stories of how the event has changed over the years. He said the community support has always been constant.

Apodiakos said the event had around 60 volunteers to help with all the work that goes into the festival, which includes rolling up to 7,000 grape leaves.

“We start very early on preparing, and we don’t have a tremendous amount of people that you know that are they’re able to help if we’re doing stuff during the work day or whatnot, so we pull it off,” she said.