2010 marks the 100th
anniversary of the Pensacola Annunciation Greek Orthodox
Church, host of the Pensacola Greek Festival. The church
will continue its Centennial celebrations as they begin
preparations for the 51st annual Greek Festival. This
year the festival takes place on October 15, 16, and 17,
2010. The popular festival was started by the
parishioners of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
in 1959 as a luncheon to share their culture and
heritage. Is has since grown to a full-blown 3 day
event serving a variety of Greek foods along with
traditional dance performances, live entertainment,
church tours, and shopping.
Admission to the festival is free. Please read the Food
pages to see menus and pricing on all food items. We are
offering sponsorship opportunities on our website and in
all of our printed materials. Please contact us via
email if you would like to be a sponsor -
gogreek@pensacolagreekfestival.com.
Live Greek music and traditional folk dancing will be
the entertainment highlight o the weekend. Youth
dancers dressed in traditional costumes representing
various regions of Greece will perform also. The Kostas
Kastanis band will be playing traditional and modern
Greek music throughout the course of the weekend.
On the menu this year will be traditional roast lamb,
baked chicken, dolmathes, mousaka, pastitsio,
spanakopita, tiropita, and Greek salads. All of these
items will be served inside at the dinner line. The
outdoor tavern will feature the popular gyros, souvlakia
(kabobs), sausage sandwiches, chicken tenders for the
kids, Greek fries cooked in olive oil, and of course
calamari. As always, a variety of homemade pastries and
cookies will be sold to eat-in or take home.
Many of these specialty items are prepared by the
parishioners and by some of the popular Gulf Coast
restaurants owned by church members. Kali Orexi!!
The Greek Gift Booth offers imported gift items such as
authentic jewelry, cookbooks, t-shirts, and other
popular items. Also by the gift booth will be the Greek
specialty items such as Frappes (iced coffee Greek
style) as well as American and Greek hot coffee.
Although food and music are of course a crowd pleaser,
they are not the only attractions offered at this
festival. Visitors will be able to attend church tours
lasting approximat ely twenty minutes, that will show
off the architectural design and beauty of the inside of
a Greek Orthodox church. These church tours give a
brief overview of the religion itself, along with some
history of the Orthodox faith and culture. Members of
the Annunciation Greek Orthodox’s choir will sing
Byzantine hymns to conclude each tour throughout the
weekend.
Each year a portion of the festival proceeds are donated
to a local charitable organization. This year we have
selected Catholic Charities - a ministry of the
Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee that helps Northwest
Florida's families in need. The remaining proceeds
help the church with capital improvement projects.
The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church was established
in Pensacola in the year 1910. The parish is an active
community of over 150 families whom come from a variety
of ethnic backgrounds. On May 1st, 2010, the
parish hosted a Grand Banquet to kick off the Centennial
Celebration. This year’s festival will continue the
celebration of this memorable event.
Volunteers are needed to help with the setup in the
weekends prior to the festival and throughout the
festival weekend as well. Individuals or groups who
would like to provide assistance should contact Samantha
at gbgreek@yahoo.com.
Volunteers who would like to receive email updates about
upcoming work dates can subscribe to our festival email
list at our website.
For more information, including menus, recipes, a
schedule of events, photos, videos and information for
advertisers, visit the festival website at
www.pensacolagreekfestival.com or contact our
Publicity Chair Maria Weisnicht
