Fri 5/26-Sun 5/28 @ noon-midnight
Mon 5/29 @ noon-8PM
Most of the area’s ethnic church festivals fall toward the end of the summer. But for decades, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Tremont, has kicked off the summer with its four-day Memorial weekend Greek Fest.
The main reason to come to such a festival is, of course, the food: a seemingly bottomless bounty of homemade (or made in the church’s kitchen) national specialties prepared by parishioners, who are experts in turning out moussaka, avogolemo (egg lemon soup, my father’s specialty) and spanikopita as good as my Aunt Katherine’s.
But while eating is the main activity, there are plenty of others, including multiple church tours daily to see a spectacular interior that matches the promise of its domes, a landmark visible from the freeway, and earn more about the Greek Orthodox religion.
There’s also a packed schedule of music and dance performances by ensembles such as the Annunciation Aegean Dancers and the Annunciation Ionian Dances, the Pontian Dancers, the Cretan Dancers and the Karpathian Dancers and the Annunciation Little Angels Dancers, both inside in its spacious church hall and outside in its parking lot.
Admission is free; they know you’re going to spend it all on food anyway. Go easy in the ouzo!
Cleveland, OH 44113