The customary windmill is the icon most passersby associate with the Labor Day Weekend ritual that celebrates the color, culture, cuisine and creativity of all that is Greek, but it’s the energy of 500 volunteers and staff members who power the annual Belmont Greek Festival.
From the green-shirted youth volunteers in the “fun zone” to the young folk dancers and the amicable fellows collecting the entry fee at the gate, everyone has rehearsed their roles as ambassadors to this small corner of Belmont that has been transformed into a lively slice of Greece.
Now in its 41st 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).
Co-chair Mark Simon is one of the festival’s most recognizable ambassadors. Walking through the Greek village grounds in his well-worn apron, he greets everyone in his path while balancing a brimming bowl of horiatiki salata (Greek salad).
“I’m not Greek, but my wife is,” Simon explains. But you’d never know he wasn’t Greek by the way he tosses out perfect pronunciations of words like “loukoumades” (lighter-than-air Greek donut holes), and “agora” (marketplace).
Simon explains some of the traditions of the festival, such as the marketplace and the tours of the church, which are led twice daily during the festival. But it’s the kitchen where he really beams like a proud “pappa.”
The food served at the festival, he explained, “Has been prepared by hand from recipes 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 is most evident.
Cue the kitchen volunteers who have been synchronizing the festival’s food service since June: a seamless army of cheerful volunteers are hard at work prepping, cooking, serving and cleaning up for an estimated 18,000 weekend guests.
The general in this Greek culinary army is Thomy (pronounced Toe-me) Iuppa, unofficially known as the “head chef.”
“I’m just a parishioner who likes to cook,” says Iuppa, downplaying her rock star kitchen status as she effortlessly scores an industrial-sized tray of spanakopita (spinach and cheese-filled filo triangles).
Thomy will oversee the preparation of 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. With Olympian-precision, low-running chafing dishes and baking pans are instantly refilled.
So how do you cook for 18,000 lunch and dinner guests? The “procurement guy,” Jim Smith, does all the ordering and knows exactly how much food he needs each year to feed festival goers and have just enough leftovers for the volunteer appreciation dinner.
“I order 800 pounds of ground beef, 600 pounds of lamb chops, 1,000 pounds of squid, 500 pounds of flour, 400 pounds of sugar, 87 cases of chicken broth and six 40-pound kegs of olives,” Smith said.
In addition, he orders one whole California lamb to be roasted each day of the festival. “Gyros, calamari and moussaka are our biggest sellers,” Smith said.
No matter how much lamb and spanakopita is consumed, festival-goers make room for the annual treat of loukoumades---crisp honey balls, deep fried to a golden brown and topped with a fruit/honey drizzle, chopped walnuts and cinnamon.
In ancient times, loukoumades were given as tokens to winners of games at festivals, but today the husband and wife team of Greg and Eleni Hulman have a slightly modernized method for making these bite-sized treats.
Of course, other pastries such as baklava are available in the “kaffenion”, which also sells Greek and American coffee.
The Belmont Greek Festival is open today from noon-8 p.m.
Opa!
Price: General Admission - $5; Seniors & Youth (13 - 17) - $2.50; Children (12 and under) with an Adult - Free.
Click here to download a "$1 Off" coupon for the Greek Festival!
Event officials advise parking will be tough, and is not allowed at Carlmont Shopping Center. Click here for parking and shuttle information.
For more information, go to the www.goholycross.org/festival/
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