Greek Festivals in the United States
Greek Festivals in the United States
Attending a Greek festival is a wonderful way to get your Greek on. Not only are Greek festivals great places to meet like-minded Greeks and would-be Greeks, they are ordinarily full of fantastic Greek foods such as gyros, the skewers known as souvlakia, sausages which are called loukaniko, spinach pies that are otherwise known as spanakopita, and a wide variety of pastries to include the world-renown baklava. Additionally, any Greek festival worth its weight in olives ought to have plenty of Ouzo, the licorice flavored alcohol, Greek beer, and traditional Greek coffee.But, enjoying Greek festivals is not just about that with which you can fill your belly. They are also about the music, dance, and, oftentimes, the religion of the Old Country. Greek Festivals usually have plenty of traditional Greek folk dancing, traditional and modern live Greek music, and tours of nearby Orthodox Christian Churches many of which have been designed after actual churches in Greece that were built more than 500 years ago. Once such church is the Church of Saint Katherine in Thessaloniki, Greece that was built in the 1300s.
Though most Greek festivals in the U.S. are in the warmer months of the year, there are some that take place in the cooler months. Some of the late spring and summer Greek festivals are the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church’s festival in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church’s Greek festival which takes place in the beautiful seaside town of Santa Cruz, California, and St. Constantine Cathedral’s New York Greek Festival.
Not surprisingly, the festivals that take place in the winter tend to be in warmer parts of the nation such as the Florida Greek Festival held in late October in Tallahassee. The Georgia Greek Festival is likewise a late-October event. It is in Watkinsville each year.