What started out many years ago as a small unnamed and unofficial picnic for the faithful of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in DeKalb, has over the years experienced great growth and popularity and is now a major annual community event in the DeKalb Sycamore area. It is now known simply as Greek Fest.
The two day festival features authentic Geek food, lively Greek and American music, dance performances by the Chicago based Ellas Dance Troupe which will be performing on Saturday at 1:00, 3:00 and 6:00 for your entertainment pleasure. They will perform dances popular from the different islands of Greece and made famous by the motion picture movie Zorba the Greek. You will not want to miss this! There will also be games for the kids, a Greek grocery store and commercial vendor booths and arts & crafts for your shopping pleasure.
The menu for the festival definitely has something for everyone’s appetite and includes some of the all time favorite authentic Greek dishes including Grecian style chicken, Slovakia (Shish Ka Bob), Lamb, Gyros, Pasticho (delicious Greek style lasagna), Spanakoptia, (chopped spinach, feta cheese and spices baked in phyllo dough), Greek salad and the ever popular combination platter as well as Saganaki (flaming Greek cheese), the best appetizer. OPA! Most of the food is prepared by the areas Greek owned restaurants using receipts brought over from Greece that have been passed down through generations.
Pastries galore! You will find a large selection of fresh homemade irresistible pastries for you to select from to compliment your dinner. These delicious desserts are handmade by the ladies of the church, including the ultimate Greek pastry Baklava (layered phyllo dough with ground nuts, cinnamon and dribbled with honey), as well as, Galaktobouriko (honey drenched custard in flakey phyllo dough), Koulourakia (the best Greek dunking cookie ever), Kourambiedes (melt away rich cookies covered with powered sugar), Melomacarona (a moderately spiced cookie hand dipped in honey), Diples (spiral flaky pastry dipped in honey and sprinkled with finely chopped walnuts) and the ever so popular Loukoumades (hot, freshly make, honey puffs topped with warm honey and cinnamon).
The Greek grocery store has been expanded on again this year. A number of popular items in demand have been added including, Feta Cheese, Greek Olives, Virgin olive oil, Greek coffee, Greek spices for cooking.
Don’t forget – this is an affordable family event for the whole community that is free and open to the public. In the event of inclement weather all food and pastries will be available for drive up pick up at the shelter house.
Greek Fest 2012 dates this year are Saturday, June 23rd Sunday, June 24th from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and will once again be held at Hopkins Park in DeKalb. We hope to see you there.
It’s sure to be a Hellenic of a good time!