Moussaka, anyone? Greek Food Festival delights

Greek Food Festival performers
Photo courtesy Visions of Travel

The Holy Mother of God Greek Orthodox Church welcomed the community to enjoy the annual Greek Food Festival last weekend. The two-day event at 1645 Phillips Road featured classic dishes including moussaka, baklava, cucumbers and chicken soup avgolemono.

Partnering with Second Harvest of the Big Bend for needy families allows the church to have a safe vendor to distribute to those in need. 

This festival also showcased a live band and a Greek-influenced playlist. The free admission and family friendly event was said to be one for the books. 

Janet Brown, a pharmacy major at FAMU who is also a Tallahassee native, said, “I’ve been coming to this event for the past five years, as a local from the city I love to participate in city events.” 

This Greece inspired event also promotes citizens to dress up in Greek attire. You see many different looks in chiton, peplos, himation and chlamys which are soft and loose fabrics that are interchangeable between men and women.

Cindy Warford a sister of the Orthodox church said, “We like to get involved and participate with the theme of the occasion and clothing is a big piece of the Greek culture.” 

The vendors also were out selling T-shirts, vintage frames, charms and art that reflected Greek history. A lot of these items and merchandised involved Greek mythology, which is known worldwide from stories of the Greek gods such as Zeus, Prometheus and Hades. 

Michael Andrews a former archaeologist said, “I love Greek mythology and come here every year to partake in their culture and non-fiction storytelling. They hold one another to a high standard and are indeed giving people.”  

The purpose of this affair is to collect food for those in need and the church partnering with Second Harvest was perfect. Second Harvest distributes millions of pounds of food to hungry families in an eighth-county region and has worked with the Orthodox Church for many years. All donated canned foods or goods were taken and gifted with one free pastry. The church provided a list of most needed items for people in need. The nutrition list included tuna, stew, cereal, peanut butter and soup.

The attendance was over 1,500 people over the two-day period and more than 3,000 canned goods were collected. The church has brought the Greek food festival to Tallahassee for the last 35years. To follow any festivities or services the church offers visit thomg.org