‘Greek for the weekend.’ Orthodox church marks 58th year of its annual food festival

Father Jim Pappas has served as the head of St. George Greek Orthodox Church going on 26 years, but even before that he remembers coming to the church for its annual Greek Fest.

He was just a kid and his aunt brought the family in from out of town each summer to work at the fundraiser.

In all that time, Pappas can only recall one year when the attendance was less than expected. “We got hit by bad weather,” Pappas says.

It’s a joke among organizers. Last year’s festival fell on the same weekend as the Floyd Mayweather Jr., Conor McGregor fight. It affected turnout, Pappas says.

“Friday night we did well, but Saturday...”

He expects no such conflicts for this year’s festival — the 58th annual. It runs Aug. 24-26 at the church and is expected to draw more than 20,000 people.

For those new to Fresno, or just not paying attention, Greek Fest has earned a spot as one of Fresno’s longest-running — if not most popular — cultural events.

“It’s the quintessential Greek experience,” Pappas says. “People love being Greek for the weekend.”

What started as simple after-church luncheon of mostly pastries and Greek coffee has become a massive undertaking for the church, with hundreds of volunteers and no shortage of logistical concerns.

Like parking, for one. There is street parking in the neighborhoods around the church, but guests can park for free, at the Fresno VA hospital on Clinton Avenue. A shuttle service runs until midnight Friday and Saturday.

Also of logistical concern: the food prep, which alone takes several months, Pappas says. Everything is cooked or baked on site in the church’s kitchen. Over the last week volunteers baked 112 trays of the desert, baklava. There are more than 1,000 packages, ready to be sold. Other food stuffs — the lamb shanks and souvlaki (meat kebabs) and pilafi (rice) — is made each day.

The food is the obvious draw, but it is just a part of culture on display during the festival. There’s also music and dancing, with both traditional and modern Greek bands playing throughout the weekend.

Pappas remembers the days when they’d have records playing.

There are also guided tours of the church.

Those things should not be overlooked, says Kopi Sotiropulos, who has long served as the public face of the festival (and of Greek culture in Fresno). “It’s important for the people who come in to go look at the church,” he says.

“It’s important they learn about the culture.”

While the event has grown and changed over its five-plus decades, so too has the church and its demographics. In recent years there has been an influx of orthodox Christians into the church who are not Greek. There are Russians and Romanians, Middle Easterners and Africans.

“It’s almost like a united nations of orthodoxy,” Sotiropulos says. “We’re just part of the culture of the Valley.”

And if there is a bond that culture shares, it’s the thing that Father Pappas sees in everyone who comes to the Greek Fest and the reason the event continues to flourish after close to six decades.

“It’s ‘kefi,’ “ Father Pappas says. It’s a Greek word used to describe a passionate joy.

“It’s their spiritual vibrancy,” he says. “Their love of life.”

Greek Fest

• 4 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
• St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 2219 N. Orchard Ave.
• $6, free under 12
• 559-233-0397, fresnogreekfest.com

Meanwhile ...

Six other noteworthy events happening this week:

• Marco Antonio Solis 8 p.m. Saturday. Save Mart Center. $53-$163. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
• The Morning Drive 9 p.m. Saturday. Fulton 55, 875 Divisadero St. $10-$12. 559-412-7400, www.fulton55.com
• One year Anniversary Party 10 a.m. Saturday. The Revue, 620 E. Olive Ave. Free. 559-981-2021, www.therevuefresno.com
• Tim Baresko. 10 p.m. Saturday. Switch Lounge and Nightclub, 5665 N. Blackstone Ave. $10, 18 + 559-203-8923, www.livemusiccity.com
• Fire in the Sierra 8:45 a.m. Saturday. Central Sierra Historical Society and Museum, 42642 Tollhouse Rd, Shaver Lake. Free., RSVP required. 559-841-4478, www.sierrahistorical.org
• Rebelution. 4:30 p.m. Aug. 30. Woodward Park Rotary Amphitheater, Fresno. $37.50-$102.50, all ages. www.ticketweb.com

This story was originally published August 22, 2018 at 12:44 PM with the headline "‘Greek for the weekend.’ Orthodox church marks 58th year of its annual food festival."