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ENTERTAINMENT, AND IMBIBE IN THE CULTURE.
The Greeks have been throwing parties for over 3500 years, and you can see the results of that tradition Friday through Sunday, July 6, 7 and 8 at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church’s ANNUAL PANEGYRI (FESTIVAL).
Small villages and large cities throughout Greece have annual festivals to commemorate name days, saints’ days, and special Feast Days of the Church, and for the most part, this has been true for 1500 years before the advent of Christianity. “Everyone from infants to grandparents join the party and forget all their cares for a day”, says Sallie Capotis, this year’s Grand Chairperson. “Our Festival is in its 19th year and we have had so much fun and success that we’re once again throwing a three-day celebration. Our Festival has become so popular that patrons of the Erie Times News have voted our Festival as one of the top two celebrations in the tri-state area!”
The Festival will be held at the church, located at 4376 West Lake Road in northwest Millcreek, parallel to the Erie International Airport. The hours are Friday, July 6, 2:30 until 11:00 p.m., Saturday, July 7, 11:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., and Sunday, July 8, from 12:00 noon until 9:00 p.m. Admission is FREE and there is plenty of FREE PARKING next to the Church. Additional parking is available at Westlake Middle School (east of the church). Handicap parking is near the church grounds. The Festival will be held regardless of the weather, with sufficient indoor and outdoor space.
If you haven’t been to a Panegyri you will find FOOD and PASTRIES, live and continuous Greek music, more FOOD and PASTRIES, boutiques, free entertainment, FOOD, gold jewelry, PASTRIES, fine arts and more FOOD, and more Greek culture in the folk dances, the music, and church tours that explain the Greek Orthodox Christian faith. Just come and have a great time, and yell “OPA!” to encourage the dancers.
“EXPERIENCE THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF GREECE”
Our theme this year is “Experience the Cultural Heritage of Greece.” George Gourlias, a native of Greece and a local restaurateur, comments: “Mainland Greece and its islands glisten like diamonds throughout the seas that surround Greece. People fly or take hydrofoils to reach these JEWELS of the HOMELAND of our parents and grandparents. As we head towards our islands we settle back and enjoy the MYSTIQUE of that which unites us with our MAINLAND. We are tied to our folk dances and customs and united with the taste of each specialty food and drink. We want our festival patrons to experience the same.”
The Greek culture at our festival is highlighted by the continuous ethnic entertainment. The Kakias Family Band (from Columbus, Ohio) will provide the kefi (spirited atmosphere) by playing popular Greek songs and dance music and giving occasional dancing lessons to beginners. As in the past, the Festival will feature a full venue of Greek dance groups that will perform traditional Greek folk dances from various regions of Mainland Greece and the Greek isles. The dancers will be outfitted in colorful and traditional 19th Century Greek costumes. The local parish will provide two dance groups – the Hellenic Dancers (high school and college age) and the Young Erie Hellenic Dancers (middle school and younger ages). Once again the internationally renowned Pittsburgh Grecian Odyssey Dancers will perform their lively and colorful dances on Saturday and Sunday. “Friday night is reserved for two popular and award-winning dance groups. - the St. Haralambos Hellenic Dancers of Canton, Ohio, and the Sts. Constantine and Helen Dancers from Cleveland Heights,” noted dance director Stella Nacopoulos
Numerous souvenir vendors also augment the Greek cultural heritage. These range from 18K and 14K gold and silver jewelry of crosses, rings, bracelets, medallions, and trinkets to the ever-popular boutique, operated by Michelle Floros and Elena Parthenakis. “We have restocked our inventory and shelves with souvenirs and Greek-theme items purchased in Greece that will have something for everyone,” said Michelle. “Last year was a very good one and we sold out of most items. We are going to have ample supplies of t-shirts, bracelets and necklaces, worry beads, handbags, Greek fisherman hats, paintings of Greece, and many other interesting items,” added Elena. Internationally known artist Pantelis Zografos, whose masterpieces offer a variety of classical, religious, and modern art motifs, many of which feature picturesque scenes of the Greek islands.
While the Festival replicates Greece, patrons can experience the real thing by buying a major raffle ticket. The top prize is a free trip for two to Greece, which includes a Greek Island cruise.
GREEK FOOD IS FANTASTIC
Father Theofanis Nacopoulos, the spiritual leader of the church community, proudly notes: “The cooks for our festival make sure that our food is tasty and delicious. Many of our cooks have years of experience from owning their own restaurants. Our parishioners (less than 100 families) work for months to prepare the food that will serve thousands of our patrons. We especially take pride in our philoxenia or hospitality, by which every patron is specially treated, as is the time-honored custom in Greece. We want everyone to feel as though they are a GREEK FOR A DAY!”
“We cater to people from all over the country who make a special effort to coordinate their vacations with our festival dates,” says Fay Mintsiveris, one of the first creators of the annual festival. “They come from as far as California, and as close as Cleveland and Michigan.” What draws them? According to William Mintsiveris, chairman of the kitchen, “It’s our dinners, made fresh daily. We do not serve anything from the can; we make our gravy from scratch and the same for our own rice pilaf, green beans and mushroom sauce. A Greek from Cleveland, an expert on food, made the claim that my lamb shank is better than any Greek restaurant in Cleveland. He should know for he eats lamb shank here all three days of the festival.”
Festival patrons are in for an orgy of delicious food, served in the social hall. The full course dinner menu also includes fish dinners (Fridays only) and chicken riganato, besides the lamb shank. Ala carte items include mouth-watering dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), spanakopita, tiropita, pastitsio (Greek lasagna), moussaka, and Greek salads, served with heaping amounts of feta cheese. Mountains of homemade pastries line an entire wall of the social hall. The selections include the ever-popular baklava, as well as kataifi, galaktobouriko (custard-filled filo topped with light syrup), kourambiedes, koulouria (a twisted butter cookie, excellent with coffee), glazed almond crescents, and pecan florets. Patrons are encouraged to buy sampler packets as a way to taste the variety of our delectable pastries and ala carte foods.
Many patrons don’t even venture into the social hall, because they are captivated by the aroma of so many types of Greek foods located under the tents on the church grounds. Back by popular demand are lamb/beef and chicken gyros, pork shish kabob, Greek sausage (loukaniko), Greek hot dogs and fries (smothered in Greek sauce and topped with melted cheese), loukoumades (fried dough, smothered in syrup and topped with cinnamon), and fried sweet dough. Baklava sundaes were the big hit last year, and will be featured again. This year’s new venue will be saganaki (a Greek headcheese flambé, served with pita bread) that is very popular in Greek restaurants in larger metropolises.
We also highly recommend for a relaxing moment with a visit to our colorful and shady kafenion (traditional Greek coffeehouse), operated by Helen Christensen and her family. Patrons can sit and enjoy traditional Greek coffee, frappe (ice coffee made with Nescafe, sugar and condensed milk), and mineral water from Loutraki, Greece. For a light pre-meal fare mezedes (hors d’oeuvres) consisting of Greek meatballs (Helen’s mother’s recipe), dolmades, feta cheese, and a roll are highly recommended. An assortment of pastries is also available to those with a sweet tooth. The kafenion is an ideal location for crowd watchers also.
BYZANTINE ICONS AND CHURCH TOURS
Continuous church tours are provided by the experienced and knowledgeable team of Marko Klapsinos and Maria Burenko. Many patrons wish to experience the mystical and awe-inspiring feeling that is generated by the icons on the sanctuary, nave, and narthex walls and ceilings. “This church is a veritable bible in icons,” notes Marko Klapsinos, “in which the viewer sees scenes from the Old Testament in the narthex, scenes from the life of Jesus the Christ in the nave, and icons that portray the Kingdom of Heaven in the sanctuary.” Maria Burenko adds, “We venerate icons as windows to heaven and the dozens of saints that adorn the sanctuary and nave walls serve as models to guide our own lives. Wherever our eyes come into contact, we see the theology of our Orthodox Christian faith. These icons always direct our attention to divine purpose of our lives and away from the material and secular world.” Some festival goers marvel at how such a beautiful church could ever exist in Erie, PA. It certainly has taken many festivals to pay for the iconography; only a small amount of debt remains. The labors and sacrifices of parishioners and friends of the church community have gone a long way to making this a reality.
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