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Authentic Greek food, pastries, wines and other items available
CAMPBELL
It’s all Greek ... for everybody.
Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church’s 60th annual festival, featuring foods and pastries made from original Greek recipes by first-generation cooks and bakers, will conclude from noon to 9 p.m. today in the church’s community center at 401 12th St.
Entertainment at the festival, which began Friday, is provided by the Nisiotika Pedia Dancers, five groups of young people from kindergarten to 12th grade performing in handmade authentic Greek costumes.
Besides a plethora of Greek food, there is a wide range of pastries, including finikia, cookies dipped in honey and rolled in walnuts; kourambiedes, butter balls with walnuts and powdered sugar; bougatsa, made with filo dough, custard and powdered sugar; galaktobouriko, filo dough, custard and honey; and Ek-Mak, shredded wheat, custard, Cool Whip and nuts with a cherry on top.
And for the first time at the festival, wines imported from Greece are for sale. Other booths offer music, apparel, jewelry, religious and other items.
Elini Davis, working at the Greek Emporium booth owned by Evelyn Klimis of Campbell, who was a Nisiotika Pedia dancer herself, said two of her three children, Niki, 11, and Christos, 8, participate in the dance group. The third child, Anastasi, 4, is too young to participate.
Davis said the children learn Greek traditions and culture and keep them alive through the dancing.
She said she gets her children involved “so they can know where they came from ... know their roots.”
Fotini Koullias, 15, a sophomore at Campbell Memorial High School and a member of the Nisiotika senior dance group, said she enjoys dancing at the festival.
“You get to see so many people you don’t always see,” she said.
Also, Fotini said her non-Greek friends “think it’s cool and come and watch and support her.”
Jeff and Nikki Manuel of Boardman, accompanied by their daughters, Haley and Marisa Manuel and Chris Wank, were first-time visitors to the Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church festival.
“I’d come back. I like to support church festivals,” said Jeff, who noted they have relatives in Campbell.
“I think it’s wonderful that our area has so many different ethnic events,” Nikki said.
Though the festival is the church’s main fundraising event, its other primary purpose it to keep alive the vision of its founders and allow orthodoxy and the Hellenic culture to shine, said Irene Mallias, co-chairwoman of the festival with Vasilios LiKouris.
It takes about 150 volunteers to put on the festival, and this year “we saw more young men and women get involved, which gives us hope for the future,” said Mallias, administrative director of MIK Industrial LLC, the family business.
“Our festival really sums up what and who we are ... that we love our faith and our food and our music, and our love of life” Mallias said.
“It gives us an opportunity to celebrate who we are and share it with our non-Greek friends,” she said.