'Good food, good company': St. Spyridon Grecian Festival returns for first time since pandemic

WORCESTER — Going to the Grecian Festival at St. Spyridon Cathedral has been something that Christine Elmore has done since a young age with her family.

On Saturday, with the festival back in full swing in the city following a four-year absence due to the pandemic, Elmore was there to enjoy Greek food once again.

“Worcester has always been great because it holds these festivals which bring in people that are not necessarily Greek,” Elmore said. “Everyone is here to learn about the food and to appreciate their community.”

First held in 1976, the Grecian Festival is a three-day weekend event that emphasizes Greek food, culture and community at the Russell Street cathedral.

Usually held in June of even years, it alternates with the Albanian Festival, which is held at St. Mary’s Assumption Albanian Orthodox Church on Salisbury Street.

The Grecian Festival was last organized in 2018, and it was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, but was revived this year.

With Greek music booming and tons of food cooking in full force like in previous years, the festival began Friday and conclude Sunday.

More than 20 vendors arefeatured, some coming from restaurants and some volunteering to sell anything from food and drinks to icons and sculptures of Greek deities.

Each day, thousands of people walked through the food lines to fill their plates with lamb and chicken gyros, spanakopita (spinach and feta cheese pie) and dolmades (grape leaves).

Grape-based Greek drinks like ouzo and tsipouro were also on the menu at the festival, catered by Dimitris Vasiliadis, owner of O’Hara’s Wine and Liquors in Worcester.

After explaining how ouzo is made of grape seeds and tsipouro of grape skin, Vasiliadis convivially shared a Greek saying.

“You can have good food, you have good drinks, but you need good company for people to have a great time,” Vasiliadis said.

Loukoumades always a hit

Special to the festival have always been the loukoumades, which are fried dough balls dipped in honey.

At the festival they are always made fresh behind a counter where “loukoumamas” — among them volunteer Jody Athanasiou — work hard to throw dough for the perfect dessert after a hefty savory meal.

Athanasiou, who has had a vendor stand at the festival since 2000, said that they make more than 30 batches of 150 loukoumades each per day, with Saturday being the busiest.

“After COVID, you don’t know how many you will get so you don’t know how much to make,” Athanasiou said. “A good thing is that it's outdoors. It’s safer so that’s why we are seeing as many people that we are seeing.”

The president of the St. Spyridon Cathedral, Georgia Parafestas, said that the Grecian Festival once drew up to 20,000 people in a single weekend.

This year, the numbers are unpredictable because of the pandemic and the change from its usual summer scheduling.

She said that the change in schedule could also be a positive thing because of the student foot traffic.

“I was moved by the team spirit and camaraderie that came back,” Parafestas said. “When everyone was working, there was a heavenly scent in the kitchen because of the baked goodies where the ladies were working together.

“It’s about just that. It’s about the community working together once again.”

Parafestas said that all the funds gathered at the event are donated to the church, which in turn puts it all to use for educational purposes, youth programs and food banks.

For Martin Duncan of Worcester, who was at the event for the first time, the community gathering is a beautiful thing.

A fan of good food, he said that he had tried the lamb gyro and had followed it with a baklava, a combo which he said to have found delicious.

“This event is a great thing not only for the Greek community, but for people like me who are not from it,” Duncan said. “I loved being here on this beautiful day, experiencing the Greek culture.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Grecian Festival at St. Spyridon Cathedral in Worcester returns after 4-year hiatus