Columbus Greek Festival
This weekend, Greece is paying a visit to Columbus.
The Columbus Greek Festival returns for its 46th year on Friday, Aug. 31 to Monday, Sept. 3. During the festival, visitors can learn about the unique Greek culture, taste authentic food and watch traditional dances.
Of course, a festival is only as good as the food that’s there. Plenty of festival booths will be selling lamb chops and gyros, but also lesser-known Greek foods like pastitsios, which are dishes made of Greek pasta, cheese, ground beef and a cream sauce called béchamel. Some other unique dishes are dolmathes, moussaka and loukaniko.
Eating Greek food is all well and good, but what about cooking it? The Greek Festival also will be offering free cooking lessons to visitors. After visitors become experts in making tyropitas and keftedes, they can buy authentic Greek ingredients at the Aegean Marketplace Deli to cook Greek dishes at home.
The festival will also teach Columbus about the history and traditions of Greece. Guests can go to the Cultural Center, which features exhibitions like an interactive timeline of Greek history from the Bronze Age to the Greek War of Independence. The festival also offers tours of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral to teach visitors about the importance of the Orthodox faith to Greek people.
Dancers will perform every day in the Dance and Music Tent. The ZOEE Dancers, Jr. Dancers and Evzone Dancers will be dancing to bouzouki music in full traditional dress. Dance lessons are also available free to those who are interested.
Souvenirs are another vital part to a festival. More than 13 different shops like Zoudis Art, The Agora and Maria’s Jewelry will be selling products. Guests can buy jewelry, artwork, books and clothing.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for senior citizens. Kids under 12 come in free. Admission is valid for the weekend.
Emily Chen is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
