Greek food festival takes months of preparation

The annual event at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church has been condensed to one day this year.

Months before the first gyro is wrapped or the first tray of baklava is served, volunteers at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church are already hard at work.

They bake cookies, roll more than 7,100 grape leaves by hand and prepare family recipes that have been passed from one generation to the next, all in anticipation of the church’s annual “Savor the Flavor of Greece” festival.

This year’s one-day celebration returns Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at St. Spyridon Hellenic Center, 119 St. Spyridon Lane, with longtime customer favorites, a new homemade dish called Yemista and the return of the silk slippers of St. Spyridon, one of the church’s most treasured relics.

Although the festival has traditionally been held over three days, Parish Council President Ronalyn Apodiakos said the decision was made to condense it into a single day as the congregation has grown smaller and older.

Even with the shortened schedule, the work behind the scenes remains the same.

Nearly 30 volunteers spend months preparing the food that has become synonymous with the annual festival. Among the biggest undertakings is hand-making the stuffed grape leaves, one of the church’s signature menu items that regularly sells out.

To better serve guests, the church continues to use two food service lines, a change introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic that dramatically reduced wait times.

“We want everyone to have fantastic food and not have it delayed waiting in line,” Apodiakos said. “Our lunch crowd is tremendous, and that’s one of the reasons we kept the two lines.”

The festival menu offers a wide selection of traditional Greek favorites, including gyros, lamb shanks, lamb souvlaki, pork souvlaki, grilled chicken breast, psari plaki, pastichio, spanakopita, dolmathes, Greek-style green beans, rice pilaf and giovetsi.

Making its festival debut this year is Yemista, a vine-ripened tomato generously stuffed with seasoned ground beef, rice and fresh Greek herbs and spices.

Apodiakos said the parish tested the dish before adding it to the festival menu.

“Before we decided to put it on the menu, we wanted to see how it would go,” she said. “People were fighting over them. They’ve been raving about them, and when our congregation heard they were coming back, everyone was excited.”

Visitors can also satisfy their sweet tooth with homemade baklava, galaktoboureko, kataifi, finikia, kourabiedes, koulourakia, karidopita, loukoumades, rice pudding and baklava sundaes.

Another new addition this year is traditional Greek coffee brewed in a briki, the small pot traditionally used to prepare the rich, unfiltered coffee that has long been part of Greek hospitality.

While the food draws thousands of visitors each year, Apodiakos said the festival serves an even greater purpose.

“Basically, this helps operate our budget,” she said. “Stewardship helps, but when we have a festival like this, it gives us a little bit of a cushion. It’s a pretty big effort, and it’s so helpful to our congregation.”

She said the event would not be possible without the support of volunteers, parish families and community members who return year after year to lend a hand.

“We’re blessed with family and friends, people who aren’t even Orthodox,” Apodiakos said. “A lot of the community helps us.”

The festival also celebrates Greek culture through music and dance.

The band Ta Filarakia will perform from 5 to 9 p.m., while the St. Spyridon Greek Dancers, featuring performers ranging from young children to alumni in their 30s, will take the stage at 7 p.m.

“For me, the dancing is special,” Apodiakos said. “The band brings so much energy. We didn’t have a dance group for a year, so we reached out to alumni. We have dancers from 4- and 5-year-olds all the way to adults in their 30s. There’s nothing more special than having authentic food and live Greek music.”

In addition to the festival, visitors will have the opportunity to venerate the silk slippers of St. Spyridon, the fourth-century bishop known in Orthodox Christianity as the “walking saint.”

According to church tradition, the slippers covering the saint’s relics are periodically replaced because they show signs of wear, symbolizing St. Spyridon’s continual intercession for the faithful. The church considers it a blessing to have a pair of the slippers available during the festival.

The church will be open for public veneration of the slippers from 1 to 2 p.m., 4 to 5 p.m. and 8 to 8:30 p.m.

Apodiakos said visitors often come for the food but leave with an appreciation for the culture, faith and traditions that have sustained the parish for generations.

“We’re small,” she said, “but we’re mighty.”