St. Barbara’s Greek Orthodox Church invites you to the Odyssey festival Labor Day weekend.
For some, Labor Day means the end of summer, closing up the pool and preparing the kids for full weeks of school. But in Orange, it means it’s time for the St. Barbara’s Church Greek Festival, with the smell of roasted lamb floating through the air as the Odyssey Dancers entertain on the grassy field below.
St. Barbara’s has gone through changes in the past few years, in fact during a construction project during the last decade, some out-of-towners wondered if the festival would go on at all. But the church had it covered, borrowing parking space from neighboring churches and town locations and shuttling visitors in to the festival without missing a beat.
Why does everyone love the Greek Festival so much? Some appreciate the beauty of the Church with its stained glass windows and painted walls; others enjoy strolling through the Hellenic agora (marketplace) and checking out the wide variety of items it has to offer; crowds always gather for the Greek cooking demonstrations and others sit in the grass for hours listening to the live band and watching the Odyssey Dancers of all ages perform traditional Greek dances each day; children look forward to the rides and games.
But if you ask anyone no matter what their heritage, it’s the food that keep them coming back year after year.
Scenes from last year’s Odyssey Greek Festival
The menu includes appetizers (meze), Greek pastries; (glyka), lamb roasted on the spit; (souvla), moussaka; gyro; spanakopita (spinach pie) and pastitisio (Greek style lasagna) and don’t forget the loukoumades (fried dough balls).
Some prefer the “Meze Grill” with specialty gourmet appetizers (meze), including saganaki (Greek cheese flamed with brandy), grilled seafood, and more, and featuring live Greek and Anatolian music.
The Greek Festival is open Rain or Shine, through Monday, Sept. 3.
Parking and admission are free on-site at 480 Racebrook Road and next door at Holy Infant Church.
Sunday, Sept. 2 and Monday, Sept. 3, festival open noon to 8 p.m.
For more information, call 203-795-1347.
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