GREEK HOLIDAY THE 49th ANNUAL GREEK FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 24-26 Build your own Greek dinner, buy a Greek cookbook with an area flavor, and imagine the sights, sounds, and smells of Mediterranean life at Greek Holiday, the 49th Greek festival, Sept. 24-26, 1206 South Guthrie, Tulsa (south of the Broken Arrow Expressway, between Denver and Houston Streets).
Greek Holiday, Tulsa’s oldest ethnic festival, will be open Sept. 24, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sept. 25 and 26, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Admission is free before 4 p.m. daily or at anytime for anyone with a Greek Ho
liday food ticket purchased in advanced. Children 12 and under will be admitted free throughout the festival when accompanied by parents.
Sponsored by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (Holy Trinity), Greek Holiday features a wide variety of activities–dining from a menu full of delicious home-cooked Greek foods, ethnic dancing, shopping for home-made Greek pastries, Greek jewelry and gifts, and imported foods.
“The people of Holy Trinity have hosted a Greek festival for more than 48 years and we are truly grateful for the support we annually receive from the Tulsa area,” said Demetrius Bereolos, general chairperson. “For a few days each year, we invite Tulsa and the surrounding cities to our ‘house’ to share our faith and culture.
Our parishioners and their friends have a great time hosting the festival.” Greek Holiday organizers expect 4,000 to 5,000 guests to enjoy the new a la carte food line, which replaces the traditional Greek festival dinner.
Tulsa’s GREEK HOLIDAY, the 49th ANNUAL GREEK FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 24-26, 2009
Greek holiday guests can build their own Greek dinner from 11 home-cooked items such as chargrilled chicken or meat shish kabob, gyros sandwich, lamb wrap sandwich [slices of baked lamb on pita bread with a fresh, creamy lemon-cucumber sauce (tsatsiki)], calamari, Greek-style potatoes, Greek salad with feta cheese and Kalamata olives, rice pilaf, and pita bread.
The new a la carte menu also offers a Greek appetizer plate–dolmathes (grape leaves stuffed with rice), tiropiita (cheese pie), keftethes (Greek meatballs), spanakopita (spinach pie), feta cheese and Kalamata olives. New and featured this year is pastichio, Greek lasagna.
To rinse the taste of garlic and oregano that accents many Greek foods at Greek Holiday, there will be soft drinks, Greek wine, beer and Greek coffee.
A meal of Greek food and beverages would not be complete without tempting Greek desserts such as the famous baklava (layers of philo dough filled with cinnamon and nuts and covered with honey). Also available is galatoburko (a custard pastry), kourambiedes (a butter cookie covered with powdered sugar), koulourakia and finikia (baked cookies best served with coffee), and loukoumades (honey puffs).
In addition to a new, official Greek Holiday tee-shirt, a cookbook of favorite recipes from Tulsa-area Greeks, Cooking Greek for Tulsa, is on sale in the marketa (marketplace).
Ancient traditions will come to life on stage, as dancers in authentic ethnic costumes, age 5 to 55, perform dances that are hundreds of years old and that tell stories of harvest, wars, love, and passion for Greece.
To learn more about the role Greek Orthodox religion and traditions play in our culture, tours of Holy Trinity will be conducted throughout Greek Holiday, under the direction of Father William Christ.
Portions of Greek Holiday proceeds will be donated to Tulsa-based charities. In the past, American Red Cross, Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, Emergency Infant Services, Habitat for Humanity, John 3:16 Mission, Make-a-Wish Foundation (Oklahoma Chapter), and Resonance have received donations from Greek Holiday.
For more information about Greek Holiday or to buy advanced tickets (including free admission to Greek Holiday), call 918-583-2082. Visit the Greek Holiday website and click on “Greek Holiday Festival.”
