Feta fries, lamb sandwich, baklava! Augusta Greek Festival gets back to traditional ways

Miguel Legoas, Augusta Chronicle
·3 min read
The dance troupe Odyssey, representing the church's teenage ministry called the Greek Orthodox Youth of America, performs during the 23rd annual Augusta Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in 2012. The spring 2022 festival features the return of live entertainment and in-person activities.
The dance troupe Odyssey, representing the church's teenage ministry called the Greek Orthodox Youth of America, performs during the 23rd annual Augusta Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in 2012. The spring 2022 festival features the return of live entertainment and in-person activities.

After two years using a restrictive drive-thru model, the Augusta Greek Festival is returning to its full form this weekend, April 29-May 1 at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Augusta. Guests will once again be able to feast on favorite dinners – like gyros and souvlaki – and favorite desserts too, shop for jewelry and unique wood carvings, and enjoy the sights of sounds of traditional Greek music and dancing. Plus, all of the proceeds benefit the church and its community missions.

When is the Greek Festival?

The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church at 953 Telfair St. in Augusta.

By the way: This week, walk your Little Feat to a concert, ball game, 'South Pacific' or Greek Festival

What's on the menu?

Expect to dine on the classic offerings, including spanokopita and gyros, even a lamb sandwich. The festival sells a ton of food. Chairwoman Michelle Enis said they go through 400 to 500 pounds of lamb alone. Plus there's the heaps of feta fries, chicken and other delicacies that guests love. That much food in addition to all of the other details of the festival is why the church starts all of the organizing, purchasing and preparing five weeks out from opening night.

Dimitrios Soulantikas adds charcoal as he roasts a lamb at the 2009 Augusta Greek Festival. Soulantikos said he bastes the meat with olive oil, oregano and fresh lemon juice for five to six hours.
Dimitrios Soulantikas adds charcoal as he roasts a lamb at the 2009 Augusta Greek Festival. Soulantikos said he bastes the meat with olive oil, oregano and fresh lemon juice for five to six hours.

"Preparing the pastries, that's a laborious event itself," Enis said. "But our church community comes together and we make the cookies, make the pastries, prepare the variety boxes we have, and then moving forward in a timely fashion. (We) begin to make the lamb, make the chicken and things like that as we get closer to the event itself."

More things to do: This week, walk your Little Feat to a concert, ball game, 'South Pacific' or Greek Festival

Is drive-thru or delivery available?

With the return of the full festival, there is no longer a drive-thru, but guests can order delivery via Augusta To Go.

Where does the money go?

Vehicles line up in the parking lot of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church to pick up dinner at a socially-distant Greek Festival in fall 2020. The drive-thru is being discontinued with the full festival, but meals can be ordered through Augusta To Go.
Vehicles line up in the parking lot of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church to pick up dinner at a socially-distant Greek Festival in fall 2020. The drive-thru is being discontinued with the full festival, but meals can be ordered through Augusta To Go.

Proceeds from the festival help the church support community services and programs such as local college scholarships, the Bags of Care program, which serves the needy and homeless, and Holy Trinity Soup Kitchen.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the spring 2020 festival to be canceled. That fall, the church introduced "Greek to Go" using a make-shift drive-thru in the church's parking lot.

"Truly, the public came out and supported us," she said. "It was awesome. They were patient with us; we had never done it before, they have never done it before with us, and it went really well. We were so grateful."

Turnout was still huge, with dozens of vehicles lining the streets, waiting to pick up meals. However, Enis said the reduced model led to a drop in how much money they were able to raise.

What's new for the spring Greek Festival?

There are some new sweets on the dessert menu like chocolate baklava. Also, the kota lathoregano (Greek half-chicken), which has traditionally only been on the fall festival's menu, will be on this spring's menu.

This is also the first Greek Festival since the death of Debi Ballas, who was a previous chairperson for the festival and a major pillar in the community.

"I know she's so proud," Enis said. "When a church comes together and puts something like this on, it's just such a great feeling, because it is a church feeling and that's what we have."

For more information, go to holytrinityaugusta.org or visit the festival's Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta Greek Festival returns to in-person fun