Opa! The 36th Annual Greek Festival is this weekend at McCoy Pavilion in Ala Moana Park, where food, music and other cultural traditions will be available for all to enjoy.
Loukaniko (Greek sausages, $5), souvlaki (marinated pork skewers, $5), gyros ($8), salads ($5 to $10), baklava, vegan melomakarona and other desserts (prices vary), Greek coffee and of course ouzo (anise-flavored liquor) will be available for purchase, and that is just a sampling of the food and drink that will be offered.
The event is staged annually by the Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific and will run from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Dishes that can be made ahead and frozen are prepared by church members leading up to the festival. On festival days, other members are busy grilling meat, making salads, assembling gyros and deep-frying loukoumathes (Greek malasadas) that are served with honey and nuts.
36th ANNUAL GREEK FESTIVAL
>> Where: McCoy Pavilion, Ala Moana Park
>> When: Noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
>> Cost: General admission $3; active military and children under 11 get in free; those wearing a toga gain entrance for $1
>> Info: 521-7220, greekfestivalhawaii.com
“Funds raised go to the church, and a certain percentage goes to other charities,” said Austin Vali, event co-chairman.
Olive Tree Cafe has a booth at the festival because owner Savas Mojarrad is a church member, Vali said. “He gives all the profits to the church.”
Entertainment will include California-based Greek blues band Mythos; guitarist and singer Sotos Kappas; the Nisiotes Dancers, the adult dance group at the church; and the church’s Aloha Youth Choir. Father Alexander Leong will make a presentation on the Orthodox worship experience.
“Father Alex is a Chinese priest married to a Japanese first lady, and it’s perfect because our church has just as many non-Greeks as Greeks,” Vali said. The San Francisco-based archbishop calls the congregation the most diverse Greek orthodox community in the country, he said.
What Oahu residents and visitors have come to know as the annual Greek Festival started 36 years ago “with a very modest bake sale and four pans of moussaka (a sort of eggplant casserole), and now it’s become a monster,” Vali said.
“There are only like 60 families in the Greek church. It’s a huge undertaking for us, but the reason we do it is we want to share the Greek culture,” Vali said.
Cash and imprinted personal checks will be accepted, and ATMs will be available on-site. Meanwhile, organizers encourage festivalgoers to carpool or make other transportation arrangements due to busy weekend parking around Ala Moana Park, and so ouzo and other adult beverages can be enjoyed responsibly.
