A Taste of Greece Greek Festival of Chandler
Discover Greek dance, food, music at festival
The word “opa” often accompanies celebration in Greek culture. And you’re sure to hear it at a Greek festival in Chandler that lets people connect with and learn about Greek culture.
Chandler’s annual A Taste of Greece Greek festival from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 brings the tastes, smells and sounds of Greece to Arizona with traditional homemade food, plus music and dance performances.
Marketing chairman Sam Kladis said the threeday event brings together Greeks and Greek-Americans to celebrate while educating the public about Greek traditions.
“It is a way for us to showcase our heritage, our food and our dance and take pride in doing so,” said Kladis, a secondgeneration Greek-American.
Started 33 years ago, the event now attracts around 10,000 people each year.
At the festival, guests can try different Greek foods, including dolmathes, grapevine leaves stuffed with rice and beef; gyros; spit-roasted lamb; saganaki, a flaming cheese dish; spanakopita, a type of spinach and cheese pie; and pastichio, a Greek lasagna made with pasta and ground beef.
The festival will also have sweet treats such as baklava, a type of dough with spices and nuts; baklava sundaes; loukoumathes, pastry puffs with cinnamon and honey; and kourabiedes, butter cookies with powdered sugar.
Thousands of hours of labor, from hundreds of church members, will go into preparing the food.
Kladis said in many Greek families, food helps to connect people.
“A lot of Greek heritage is centered around When: 5-10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2. Where: St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, 2716 N. Dobson Road, Chandler. Admission: $3 admission, children under 12 free. Raffle tickets $5 per ticket or five for $20. Details: atasteof greeceaz.com. food,” Kladis said. “Greeks love to eat, and they love to cook. Yayas teach their daughters how to cook and teach their boys how to cook, and that is carried over from generation to generation.”
Imported beer and wine and Greek liqueurs such as ouzo and metaxa will also be available during the event. At an outdoor sports bar, guests can have a drink, socialize and watch football.
A children’s area offers activities for the younger crowds.
Inside the “agora” marketplace, vendors sell imported items, paintings, belly dance outfits, local Arizona honey, jewelry, books and icons.
Throughout the weekend, local musicians and dance groups will expose attendees to Greece’s diverse music and dance traditions.
On all three days of the event, guests can hear live music from the Grecian Express, a band made up of church and community members.
Local dance groups dressed in traditional attire will perform and teach Greek folk dances from different regions of Greece. Dance instructor Niki Pallas said by learning, performing and passing down the dances in their families, the performers help to keep these traditions alive locally. In many of the dances, participants move in circles while holding hands. The folk dances all have stories and purposes behind them, such as sharing history, expressing affection for another person or showing love for one’s country.
“Greeks dance for different reasons. They dance when they are happy. They dance when they are sad. They dance for their history. They dance for celebration,” Pallas said.
Pallas started out as a dancer in the church’s original dance group in 1982. When she was growing up, children learned the steps to folk dances by doing them with their families.
“I remember moms with their babies, dancing at the end of the line and having one on their hips. It was very common,” Pallas said.
The festival takes place at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, a center for the Greek community in the East Valley. During the event, guests can take tours of the church grounds and learn more about the Greek Orthodox religion.
Proceeds from ticket and food sales and a raffle with a $1,000 grand prize will benefit the church’s general fund.
On all three days of the event, parking shuttles to the church will be available from Seton Catholic Preparatory High School, located at 1150 N. Dobson Road in Chandler.