MASSILLON – St. George Greek Orthodox Church will open its doors to share the Greek heritage and delicacies at its 18th annual Greek Oktoberfest starting Thursday.
The annual event runs through Saturday at the church’s Cultural Center, 364 First St. SE.
Dimitri Verginis, chairman of the annual event, said guests will be treated to their favorite Greek specialties including gyros, souvlaki, moussaka, pastitsio and plaki, a fish baked in onions and tomatoes. They can also pick up the popular Greek pastries including baklava and koulourakia — a twisted coffee cookie.
Verginis said some crowd favorites will not be on the menu this year, including lamb shanks and chicken.
“As you know at this time there is limited help,” he said. “We wanted to make it a little easier and keep to more traditional items. There will be plenty of pastries.”
On Thursday, a special event is planned to mark the 200 years of Greek independence.
Taverna Night will include a Greek cafe and the live music of Aegean Duo. Guests will be treated to a drink with their $1 ticket. Dinners can be purchased from a limited menu and dancing follows.
Tickets for the event can be purchased as the door, Verginis said, but there is limited seating.
The special event includes a short historical presentation.
“It’s special because we are celebrating 200 years of Greek independence of the modern state,” he said. “There will be a very short presentation that I hope will interest people to learn more.”
Food will be served from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Guests can dine in and go through the food lines to pick their meals or they can order online and schedule a time to pick up food through the drive-thru.
Verginis said they learned a lot from last year’s event when seating was limited in the venue and most ordered to-go.
Improvements have been made to ensure guests are served quickly when they arrive for the order, he said.
“We hope our improvements will make it easier,” Verginis said. “We are so thankful everyone was so patient.”
Guests can order food at the drive-thru, but they should expect to wait for their order. Verginis encouraged placing an online order, adding that filling online orders will be a priority.
Those dining in can enjoy a performance by the St. George dance troupe at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. On Friday, Aegean Duo will play live music from around 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 4:30 to 8 p.m.
The festival is the church’s largest fundraiser and helps provide for the church and its outreach work.
Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or [email protected].
On Twitter: @aknappINDE
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