The Windmill is Up and the Table is Set for 18,000

The customary windmill in place and the smell of moussaka fills the air as over 500 volunteers prep for one of the Bay Area's most anticipated Labor Day weekend rituals--the . 

Now in its 42nd year, the “panegyri” (Greek for festival) is expected to draw 20,000 visitors to its home at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross. And every single visitor arrives with a "kali orexi" (good appetite).

All of the festival's food is prepared by hand and the recipes have been handed down over generations.

Outdoor food booths serve gyros, fried calamari, BBQ pork souvlaki, roasted lamb and Greek beer, but it’s the buffet feast in the Main Hall Restaurant that where the “kefi” (joy) of Greek eating will be most evident.

The buffet includes traditional dishes that festival-goers have come to expect year to year: dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), moussaka (baked eggplant with ground beef), pastitsio (Greek lasagna), youvetzi (lamb shanks), roasted chicken, and pilafi (rice), and more.

Of course, there's more to the Greek Fest than eating and drinking---there will be plenty of dancing, singing, kids' fun zone, live mythology theatre, and shopping in the traditional “agora” (marketplace).

Belmont Greek Festival

• Sept. 1-3
• Noon-10 p.m. Sat/Sun; Noon-8 p.m. Mon.
• $2.50-$5.; children 12 and under free
• Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross, 900 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont
• For more information, go to www.goholycross.org or call 650-591-4447
• Click here to download a "$1 Off" coupon for the Greek Festival

Opa!

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