Sept. 27, 2010
St. George Greek Festival
Story By Sandee Lloyd
Pictures By Sandee and Stephanie Lloyd
Father Mark Elliott in his tour of St. George's Greek Orthodox Church gives a fascinating overview of the history of the Greek Orthodox religion. He tells of the church's origins and development of the traditions still observed today.
The church was designed in the Byzantine style, with many pictures of Jesus,
Mary, the Apostles, Angels and many of the Saints. The wall separating the nave
from the altar has panels devoted to each of them, with a painting of the Last
Supper prominent in the middle. One important difference in these paintings and
ones in other churches is the halos surrounding the figures. The halos are large
and golden representing people who have seen the light of Christ, while the halo
of Christ has figures written on it which mean "The One Who Is."
Byzantine chants and incense are part of the worship service, and traditionally the chants are sung a cappella, a tradition Fr. Elliott is working on bringing back.
In the ceiling is a domed area with a painting of Christ the Almighty looking down on the people. He is surrounded by a rainbow which reminds us we are coming before the throne of God. Below the rainbow are figures representing the nine ranks of angels.
Everything in the church, or more properly, temple, is gorgeous. There are tall stained glass windows and on the back wall a series of icons depicting the feast days of the church. For those of us whose knowledge of Greek culture mostly comes from the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," the church tour was very enlightening.
There are approximately 60-65 families active in the church, and from the size and scope of the festival, all must have participated in some way.
Dances performed to traditional music and in costume were presented throughout the festival. The dancers ranged from very young children to adults and all gave outstanding performances. The tempo of the dances varied depending in large part on the region of Greece of their origins, with the northern areas having the faster tempos. All the dances were lovely, but the most entertaining was the water dance, performed traditionally by men but now also by women. A test of skill and balance, the dance was thrilling to watch. The dancers performed for over an hour to large and enthusiastic crowds.
There were inflatables for the little children and face painting. A gift shop was available with beautiful icons, jewelry, coined scarves, t-shirts and other items, but what seemed to draw the biggest crowds was the food.
Ah, the food. The food is wonderful, and thousands of people who waited in long lines would agree, with many coming back throughout the weekend.
One of the most popular areas is the pastry area, filled with 13 different types of pastries and loaves of bread. The preparation of the pastries takes months, and no matter how much is made, they always sell out before the festival is over. People have learned to come early for the boxed pastries as they always sell out first. The lines for pastries were long Friday, but longer on Saturday.
There were three areas for food. In the Social Hall of the church a full dinner could be had, as well as a la carte items, beer and wine; the Gyro area, where Gyros and Greek fries were found; and a large area where whole lambs were roasted on a spit, featuring lamb with pita bread, Souvlaki, Greek pizza and grilled meatballs.
Each area had lines stretching half a block or more at times, but it was well worth the wait.
For one weekend in September, everyone is Greek. Opa!
Pictures show scenes from the festival, food areas, dancing and inside the church.
These pictures and more can be seen at http://lloydphotography.ifp3.com/.
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Story By Sandee Lloyd
Pictures By Sandee and Stephanie Lloyd
Father Mark Elliott in his tour of St. George's Greek Orthodox Church gives a fascinating overview of the history of the Greek Orthodox religion. He tells of the church's origins and development of the traditions still observed today.
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Byzantine chants and incense are part of the worship service, and traditionally the chants are sung a cappella, a tradition Fr. Elliott is working on bringing back.
In the ceiling is a domed area with a painting of Christ the Almighty looking down on the people. He is surrounded by a rainbow which reminds us we are coming before the throne of God. Below the rainbow are figures representing the nine ranks of angels.
Everything in the church, or more properly, temple, is gorgeous. There are tall stained glass windows and on the back wall a series of icons depicting the feast days of the church. For those of us whose knowledge of Greek culture mostly comes from the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," the church tour was very enlightening.
There are approximately 60-65 families active in the church, and from the size and scope of the festival, all must have participated in some way.
Dances performed to traditional music and in costume were presented throughout the festival. The dancers ranged from very young children to adults and all gave outstanding performances. The tempo of the dances varied depending in large part on the region of Greece of their origins, with the northern areas having the faster tempos. All the dances were lovely, but the most entertaining was the water dance, performed traditionally by men but now also by women. A test of skill and balance, the dance was thrilling to watch. The dancers performed for over an hour to large and enthusiastic crowds.
There were inflatables for the little children and face painting. A gift shop was available with beautiful icons, jewelry, coined scarves, t-shirts and other items, but what seemed to draw the biggest crowds was the food.
Ah, the food. The food is wonderful, and thousands of people who waited in long lines would agree, with many coming back throughout the weekend.
One of the most popular areas is the pastry area, filled with 13 different types of pastries and loaves of bread. The preparation of the pastries takes months, and no matter how much is made, they always sell out before the festival is over. People have learned to come early for the boxed pastries as they always sell out first. The lines for pastries were long Friday, but longer on Saturday.
There were three areas for food. In the Social Hall of the church a full dinner could be had, as well as a la carte items, beer and wine; the Gyro area, where Gyros and Greek fries were found; and a large area where whole lambs were roasted on a spit, featuring lamb with pita bread, Souvlaki, Greek pizza and grilled meatballs.
Each area had lines stretching half a block or more at times, but it was well worth the wait.
For one weekend in September, everyone is Greek. Opa!
Pictures show scenes from the festival, food areas, dancing and inside the church.
These pictures and more can be seen at http://lloydphotography.ifp3.com/.
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
