TOWN OF DEWITT – The Greek Cultural Festival hosted by St. Sophia’s Orthodox Church was back in full swing last weekend—a sight that hadn’t been seen since 2019.
For the last two summers, the four-day event on Waring Road in DeWitt was drive-thru only, a structure that kept the church’s largest fundraiser going through COVID but with less of the merriment that made it so locally popular in the first place.
“We’re back and better than ever,” festival committee member and regular St. Sophia’s churchgoer Sophia Meskos said on the opening day. “It’s thrilling to be able to share everything our Greek Fest has been known for, from the dancing performances to the complete food menu, plus having everyone here again to celebrate is just great.”
Open to anyone and everyone in the community regardless of their religion or ethnic background, the annual showcase of Greek culture featured folk dancers of all ages and live music by The Aegeans under the main tent.
Crowd-pleasing eats included the golden, deep-fried loukoumades—also known as honey puffs—and the flaky, savory spanakopita that gets laid out every preceding February before the fresh additions of spinach and cheese come June.
In the upstairs gymnasium were stands that sold pastries, Greek coffee, jewelry and fashionable clothing.
One booth was equipped to make baklava sundaes, a dessert containing vanilla ice cream topped with buttered layers of filo dough, chopped walnuts, cinnamon, sugar and syrup.
Kathy Bristol, a former Fayetteville-Manlius teacher who helped to originate the sundae, said it brightened her week to see attendees face to face, especially old friends who have stopped by the festival year to year.
As usual, the event also had tours of the church Thursday through Sunday for those interested as well as wine, brew and spirit tastings and a lecture series on Greek culture and iconography.
Peter Manolakos, the president of the parish council, referred to the Greek Fest as a “labor of love” and the unofficial start of summer alongside Memorial Day and Taste of Syracuse.
Now concluded with its 49th year, the multi-day festival began this go-around with a ceremony thanking the Town of DeWitt for its decades of support.
With Town Supervisor Ed Michalenko and all but one councilor standing by, the church donated $3,000 to DeWitt’s recreation department, thus allowing three children to go to summer camp who wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.
