Fun
for everyone
Come
for the food, stay for the culture!
Victoria,
BC - With
fabulous food, exciting entertainment and joyful shouts of “Opa,” the
2nd Annual Victoria Greek Summer Food Festival will take place on
Wednesday, August 27, through Monday, Sept. 1, at the Greek Orthodox
Church and Community Centre of the Presentation of Our Lord, 4648 Elk Lake
Drive (near the Commonwealth Pool).
Festivals
have been a religious and cultural tradition of Greek society since
Ancient times. Primarily held to honor or receive favour from the gods or
to celebrate the changing of the seasons, this ancient rite was
characterized by music, dance, athletic competitions, wine, and of course,
food. It was an excuse for the entire community to join and celebrate the
ideals of family, friendship and philoxenia – generosity towards
strangers. The most famous of the ancient festivals were the Olympic
Games.
And
so we bring you our Annual Greek Summer Food Festival – an opportunity
to share our Hellenic culture with our fellow Victorians. And when
something works, why change it? So, this festival, too, is about music,
dance, wine and food.
But
it’s also about coming together as friends, having a good time, and
saying, “Efharisto” (Thank you) to Victorians for enabling us to
continue supporting the development of our Community. And who knows? Maybe
somewhere along the line, the gods will smile down on us too!
The
six-day Victoria Greek Summer Food Festival is geared for the entire
family, offering an array of authentic Greek food and pastries, continuous
music and dancing and exhibition folk dancing.
Some
of the favorite menu items are souvlakia (Greek shish-kebab with marinated
pork), roast lamb (with special Greek seasonings), and spanakopita
(spinach and cheese stuffed inside layers of filo pastry).
Also
on the delectable menu will be traditional homemade Greek pastries such as
loukoumades (doughnut holes covered with honey), baklava (layers of nuts
and filo pastry soaked in honey), and kourambiedes (crescent-shaped
shortbread cookies covered with powdered sugar).
Visitors
also will enjoy continuous music from a Greek band so they can dance the
traditional kalamatiano, tsamiko, zeimbekiko and other Greek dances. In
addition, several award-winning folk dance groups from the Mediterranean
and beyond will perform throughout the week in their colourful, hand-made
costumes.
The
hours of the Victoria Greek Summer Food Festival are Wednesday, August 27,
through Sunday, August 31, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Monday,
September 1, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free.
