Holiday Area: Food Festival

Annunciation Church

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church of Little Rock was founded in 1913 by Greek immigrants. It is affiliated with the worldwide Orthodox Christian Church which dates back to 33 AD. The parish congregation consists of more than 200 families representing the heritage of 18 nationalities. Church volunteers begin preparations for the food festival six months in advance. The festival culinary offerings reflect the cultural traditions of church members, which include Greek Armenian, Georgian, Romanian, Russian, Indian, Middle Eastern, English and American. These diverse heritages each contribute to the food traditions associated with the Greek Orthodox Church.

The International Greek Food Festival lives up to its name by providing a taste of the congregation's favorite recipes. Menu items include Greek souvlaki commonly known as ka-bobs, Greek pastitsio, spanakopita, gyros, roasted lamb and calamari. At the Jerusalem Cafe, festival participants enjoy hummus, tabbouleh salad and falafel. Indian dishes on the menu include rice pilaf, vegetable curry and chick peas with spinach masala. The selection of handmade Greek pastries available at Old World Market include baklava, sourota, kourambiethes, melomacharona and other tasty treats. Many menu items may be purchased at a drive-through station.

Old World Market

The festival's indoor Old World Market pleases shoppers and browsers with items imported from around the globe. Its array of goods includes items such as Mediterranean silver, jewelry, hand-painted ceramics, dances scarves, Russian nesting dolls, African hair clips, Roman and Middle Eastern coins, European artwork and handmade wooden toys. Crafted items from the Ozarks also are available. For those wishing to recreate the festival menu, or just take home their favorite festival delicacy, the Old World Market sells all the ingredients needed to cook favorite Greek dishes, as well as frozen dinners and pastries.

Activities

Dancing is a foundational festival activity. Continuous performances throughout the weekend ensure nonstop celebration with an international flair. In the spotlight are Greek dancers, Irish, Indian, Russian, Dutch and Middle Eastern dancers. During festival, the church is open to the public. Daily guided tours offer the opportunity to view Annunciation's iconography and massive hand-carved altar screen and to learn about the Orthodox Christian faith. Children engage in festival fun with special activities, like face painting, crafts, rides, games and a menu designed for youthful tastes.

The spices of seasoned meat fill your nostrils, the tang of feta cheese dissolves on your tongue, and you can't believe your enjoyment donates to a good cause. The Greek Food Festival in Birmingham, Alabama, has grown into a sensational hit that attracts visitors from all over the South. But many of them don't know the history of the festival or its benefits. Educate yourself. It might just make that food taste better.

Benevolent Women

The Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society, a national organization, seeks to help those in need through fund-raising efforts. The Birmingham chapter of the ladies started the Greek Food Festival to promote these efforts in 1972, eventually handing over the reigns to the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. For decades, the festival has grown from humble roots to the popular attraction that it is today. The festival now takes a year to plan, with organizers cooking 37,000 pounds of ground beef and 3,000 pounds of rice in preparation. More than 20,000 meals were served in 2012, and all profits go to charitable ministries run by the church.

A Blast From the Byzantine Past

The grounds of the Holy Trinity Church turn into a maze of tents and vendors. Each vendor sells a specific type of Greek food under a professionally made sign, so it's easy to get your favorite treats. Inside a wing of the church is a stage with live music where festival-goers can enjoy the occasional Greek dance put on by troupes from the Holy Trinity Sunday School. Ask a ranking member of the church for a tour of the cathedral, where you'll step back in time to enjoy ceiling art and iconography from the Byzantine era. Sometimes the entire festival comes to a grinding halt for charity. In 2012, 5-year-old sickle-cell patient Ceanna Ware became the star attraction when she was gifted her wish -- a playhouse.

A Delicious Education

Greek food utilizes flavored meats. Souvlakia is marinated lamb on a skewer, gyros feature seasoned beef with tsaziki sauce on pita bread, and Greek chicken gets basted in olive oil, lemon juice and oregano. Feta cheese and spinach bring out the flavor in Greek salads and fried filo-dough pastry triangles, called pites. Pistacho -- the Greek dish, not the nut -- sits heavy with macaroni, seasoned beef and cream bechamel sauce. Honey, roasted pecans and cinnamon sweeten a variety of different Greek filo-dough dessert pastries, like baklava. Load up on your favorite dish, or sample an abundance of Greek fare.

Get the Most Greek

The festival celebrates from the mid-morning to late at night for three days -- Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- at the end of September every year. The residential neighborhood jams up with traffic during the popular festival, and parking becomes very hard to find around dinner time. The old Liberty National parking deck, a block east on 20th Street, provides free parking. Go in the mid-afternoon on Thursday and Friday to avoid the crunch, and bring plenty of cash. Part of 19th Street is coned off to create a drive-through, where you can call ahead to promptly pick up your order. Expect temperatures in the mid-50s to mid-70s during Birmingham's driest month. Feel good about spending money at the event. It goes to activities for seniors in the area, daycare that provides nutrition, shelter for victims of abuse and much more.

Little Rock Greek Food Festival