HOW TO GO
What: The 54th annual Dayton Greek Festival
Where: The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 500 Belmonte Park N., Dayton
When: September 7-9; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sept. 7 and 8, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 9
Cost: Free admission on from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 7; Admission for the remainder of the weekend is $2 per adult, which includes a free raffle ticket. Free admission for children 12 and younger.
More info: (937) 224-0601 or www.DaytonGreekFestival.Com
HOW TO GO
What: The 40th annual Columbus Greek Festival
Where: The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 555 N. High St., Columbus
When: Friday through Monday (Aug. 31-Sept. 3); 11 a.m.-midnight on Friday and Saturday, noon to midnight Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday
Cost: $5 adults, $4 seniors, free for children 12 and younger. Admission is good for the entire weekend.
More info: (614) 224-9020 or www.greekcathedral.com
Greek culture and heritage will be on full display over the next two weekends with large festivals happening in Columbus over Labor Day weekend and Dayton the following Friday through Sunday.
The Dayton festival, the older of the two, will be celebrating its 54th year, while Columbus’ will be turning the big 4-0 and the parish throwing the party will be marking a major milestone observing 100 years since its founding.
Both festivals sprang from relatively humble beginnings, but there are huge crowds expected this year at both, thanks to an interest in all things Greek.
The Greek Festival at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Dayton began quietly in 1958 as a parish picnic for congregants, but as the years passed and parishioners began to invite other friends, it quickly grew in popularity from a church picnic to a major festival in Southern Ohio. Columbus began as a dinner dance and has grown into a marathon four-day party lasting 46 hours.
Festival organizers in Dayton are expecting more than 20,000 guests to attend, while Columbus will be prepping for more than 30,000 looking to celebrate.
Attractions during both will include tours of the breathtaking churches, information about the Greek Orthodox religion, shopping, music, dancing and — the highlight for many festival goers — the opportunity to enjoy Greek beers, wines and food.
The numbers in Dayton alone for 20,000 people help tell the story of the incredible volume of food that’s prepared in advance to get ready for the weekend. From Dessine Fricioni, publicity chairwoman for the festival in Dayton, here’s just a sampling of the amounts of food to be sold that weekend: 4,000 pounds of gyro meat, 25,000 pitas, 300 pans of pastitsio and moussaka, 1,800 pounds of flour and 2,200 pounds of sugar.
But perhaps the most startling number of all is for the number of Greek pastries that are being prepared for the Dayton event — 200,000, and all of it made by members of the church who volunteer to help with the event.
“Quite a few people tell us that they’ve been waiting all year for the festival and often come with Tupperware containers, so they can take food home and freeze it for future meals at home,” Fricioni said.
The Greeks are masters of many dishes, but several Greek deserts in particular have become a favorite treat for many across the country looking to satisfy a sweet tooth.
Baklava made from thin layers of filo dough, filled with crushed walnuts and spices and soaked in a warm syrup is probably the most popular, but several others have continued to find fans.
Here are a few others Greek pastries you may have tried or you may still be waiting to indulge in: loukoumades (honey puffs), koulourakia (twisted butter cookie), kourambiedes (powdered sugar butter cookie), karithopita (spicy walnut cake), pasta flora (baked dough with apricot or strawberry filling) and tsoureki (a sweet holiday bread).
Here is a recipe for one of Fricioni’s favorites:
HONEY PUFFS (LOUKOUMADES)
1 package yeast
1 cup warm water
1 cup whole milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups flour
Deep frying oil
Syrup: 1 cup water, 2 cups sugar and 2 T. honey
Instructions: Combine the yeast and warm water. In a mixer, blend the milk, eggs, oil and salt. Add the yeast mixture to the milk/egg mixture and slowly sprinkle in the flour. Slightly knead the dough and set aside in a covered pan in a warm place, or in a slightly warmed oven for 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size. Stir mixture with a wooden spoon. It should be thick enough to stick to the spoon. Heat the oil to 350 degrees, at least 2 inches deep. Drop batter from a teaspoon into the hot oil and turn until the dough balls are golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. To make syrup, combine water and sugar and boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the honey. Pour the hot syrup over the drained honey balls.
Baking tip:
“One secret to successful Greek pastry when making cookies or working with filo dough, such as baklava or spinach pies, is to use unsalted clarified butter. It makes a better tasting pastry and stays fresh longer. Look on the Internet for easy instructions on how to clarify butter,” Fricioni said.
About the Author