43
Greek food festival opens in Campbell
Festival proceeds will be used to make church renovations.
CAMPBELL — The Archangel Michael Greek Food Fest is full of food and fun. But it’s more than that. It’s also about tradition and harmony.
“Greeks are very proud. Just like the other ethnic groups are,” said Christine Gaetano, president of the ladies guild at Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church. “You deal with so many different people that are from different [Greek] islands and it’s really beautiful. And they all get together and they’re baking, cooking. It’s just awesome.”
Other area Greek Orthodox churches help with the event, she said, “so it’s a brotherhood/sisterhood thing and everybody’s working together to make it a success.
“And a lot of our non-Greek friends love it, too,” Gaetano added. “They love the pastries, they love the food and just the atmosphere. They like the whole thing.”
Eva Douropoulos and her grandson Antonios Douropoulos, 5, said they enjoy the food. They shared a plate of chicken at the festival Saturday.
“I like it because everybody comes together and outsiders get real close with the Greeks,” the Campbell woman said. “And they enjoy themselves with the Greek music and the Greek food.”
Antonios said his favorite parts of the festival are the rides and the duck hunt game.
“We always come because it’s our heritage,” Douropoulos said. “We’re very much into our tradition. It’s a Greek community, and we support our church and that’s why we’re having this lovely day.”
Money raised at the festival will be used to renovate the church, Gaetano said. The building on 12th Street was built in 1955.
“Now we desperately need to raise money to renovate it,“ she said. “It‘s worn. It’s tired.”
Traditional Greek dancing was showcased at the event. The church’s own dancers and guests from Canton and Pittsburgh performed.
“We have beautiful Greek dancers,” Gaetano said. “They’re very entertaining, very colorful. They all wear the costumes for the different islands that they’re from. It’s a very joyous thing to see.”
Deena Diamandis, 9, a dancer for Archangel Michael, said she enjoys keeping the Greek dancing tradition alive.
It was a little hard to learn the steps, she said. She started dancing at age 6.
“I like dancing in front of everyone,” she added.
In the Greek Marketplace, festival participants could purchase sea sponges.
“I’m trying to earn some money for our church,” Theresa Notte said. “My son is a sponge diver in Tarpon Springs, Fla., and I had him send up a basic sponge so I could try to earn some money for our church, to repair it.”
Sponge diving is a traditional Greek profession, she added.
She offered an all-purpose sponge for sale at the marketplace. It can be used for bathing, decoration or cleaning.
The festival continues from noon until 10 p.m. today.