CENTERVILLE — Preparations are well underway at St. George Greek Orthodox Church for the community’s annual Greek Food Festival, just days away. With an extensive menu planned, now’s the perfect time to whet your appetite and start learning some essential Greek words for the food festival, like “thelo ena gyro, parakalo” (Gyro please).
This two-day festival is a much-anticipated event for members of Cape Cod’s Greek community, who love to welcome guests and treat them to the best food. While we can’t guarantee what the weather will be like, we can guarantee this: you won’t go home hungry.
When is the St. George Greek Food Festival?
This year’s event will kick off at the church, located at 1130 Falmouth Road in Centerville, on July 12 from 4 to 10 p.m., with the festivities continuing on July 13 from noon to 11 p.m.
Although some of the cooking takes place outside, meals are served inside the church hall, and there’s seating available in an outdoor tent as well as indoors, so rain or shine, you won’t have to worry about the weather ruining your celebrations.
What’s on the menu?
The food festival menu offers a wide selection of dinner and à la carte dishes, as well as a wide selection of famous Greek pastries, so you’ll be spoilt for choice.
For those with a hearty appetite, chicken and pork souvlaki (skewered marinated meat served with pilaf, salad and bread rolls) are available on dinner plates. There’s also lamb shanks; everyone I’ve spoken to in the Greek community seems to talk about lamb shanks when I ask them what’s on the menu. The dish is juicy and tender, with a sumptuous flavour and many different descriptions: the meat falls easily off the bone, grilled and stewed in tomato sauce.
Another menu item is pastitzio, a baked pasta topped with Greek-spiced meat and creamy béchamel sauce that parishioner Sofia Sarhanis describes as “kind of like a Greek lasagna.” Other dishes include moussaka, a baked eggplant casserole; spanakopita, spinach and feta sandwiched between thin slices of buttery phyllo dough; dolmatis, stuffed grape leaves; baked and served at room temperature, lima beans; rice pilaf; and, of course, Greek salad. And let’s not forget gyros, a savory pita bread stuffed with roasted sliced meat, tomatoes, lettuce, and onions.
Desserts include baklava, made with layers of phyllo dough, crushed nuts and sugar syrup or honey, diplos (fried bread with syrup and walnuts), risogalo (rice pudding) and revani (lemon sponge cake drizzled in syrup).
The food festival will also feature a variety of pastries, from kourulakia (rolled, twisted, slightly sweet butter cookies) to baklava cheesecake, kataifi (shredded, baked phyllo dough with nuts and honey), kouravites (Greek almond butter cookies), galatoboureko (phyllo dough filled with custard), portokalopita (sweet orange Greek cake) and tsoleki (Greek brioche buns).
The menu offers a variety of beverage choices, from sodas and bottled water to Greek wines and beers.
What else can you expect?
During the festival, visitors can enjoy live and recorded Greek music and everyone is encouraged to get up and dance, Sarhanis said.
Greek-American dance band Ta’ Petia Orchestra will perform live from 6 to 10 pm on both days of the festival, with pre-recorded music playing at other times.
How much does it cost?
Admission to the food festival is free, as is parking on-site, but be sure to bring cash or other means of payment for food and drinks.
“We accept credit cards and Apple Pay, and we have an ATM on site,” said church clerk Paula Sweetman.
A la carte and dinner plate prices range from $8 to $25. Pastries start at $3.
Kali Orexi — Enjoy!
St. George Greek Food Festival Overview
When: July 12th and 13th.
Where: St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 1130 Falmouth Road, Centerville.
When: July 12th from 4pm to 10pm. July 13th from 12pm to 11pm.
Cost: Free entry, free parking, bring your own food and drinks.
Heather McCarron can be reached at hmccarron@capecodonline.com or follow X @HMcCarron_CCT.
