Grand Finale

On Saturday of Labor Day weekend, I drove into the heart of Columbus for the Greek Festival held at the Orthodox Church. The ticket price covers all four days.
 The first time I attended, I didn’t know Loukaniko’s from Loukoumades. Inside, we toured the Cathedral and tried to absorb the history of the church. The breath of Holiness still lingered in the gold -leafed iconography circling the ceiling. Their mosaics were beautiful and stunning.
After perusing craft vendors with blue and white flags, canvas paintings portraying the Mediterranean Sea, sailing, villages replete with window boxes of cascading flowers, domed roofs and narrow climbing stairs. The imported Greek jewelry made with abalone shell, gold and silver, the Greek Key patterns, crosses and the All Seeing Eye. Our first year, we stumbled upon George Skaroulis and bought his CD Sanctuary. Later at the bookstore we bought book marks. This year, in the book store, I found little Angel boxes.
Outside, the sun made a beautiful day feel all the more festive. The Hellenistic Singers performed while the musicians added a celebratory backdrop. The fragrance of charred meat perfumed the air. Some of the Vendors sold the standards: Gyros, Souvlaki, Loukaniko and Keftedes, and others sold delicacies like, Amigdalota, Baklava and Loukoumades.
For lunch, we were tempted by the Greek pizza, a crust topped with tomatoes, olive oil, black olives and feta cheese. But instead I chose the Gyro. We enjoyed listening the vendors speaking their native Greek amongst themselves, a language foreign to me. I felt as though we’d traveled overseas minus the bad airport experience and bumpy flight. Pasta Kok and Pasta Sokolatas were both delicious with coffee and Maria’s bakery offers a little over a dozen selections to pick from. If you enjoy Mediterranean food and you’ve never been to the festival, I recommend it. The church members make much of the food at home, the meat is flame grilled on site and couldn’t be more authentic. I promise you won’t be disappointed.