‘It’s like taking a little trip to Greece’: Annual festival brings food and culture to Spokane

If your mouth is watering for the savory taste of gyros topped with creamy, tangy tzatziki, or if you’re craving the rich, nutty flavor of flaky baklava, you’re in luck.

The 89th annual Greek Festival starts Thursday.

“It celebrates our love of food, our love for each other and our love of our culture,” said the Rev. Daniel Triant, head priest at Holy Trinity.

The event is the longest-running Greek food festival in the nation, and members of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church devote months preparing for it.

“We get to know each other more deeply during the long prep for the festival,” Triant said. “It’s not work for us – we have fun!”

Last year, the menu expanded to include Triant’s favorite dish – pastitsio.

“It’s akin to lasagna but with Greek spices, a hint of cinnamon and a creamy béchamel sauce,” he said. “It’s heaven.”

He’s also a fan of their tzatziki, a sauce featuring strained yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, and fresh herbs like dill or mint.

“It’s like no other – thick and creamy!”

Other Greek delicacies are available indoors at the deli and pastry tables. The bookstore also offers religious items, like icons and candles, and the festival includes tours of the iconic 1932 church.

“The first festival was held to raise seed money to build the hall,” Triant said.

He hopes guests will take advantage of the increased seating in the courtyard, where they can relax and enjoy watching the Opa Dancers. The dancers will be wearing new costumes from Greece.

This year, a portion of he proceeds will go to Caritas Outreach Ministry.

“It’s a way to give back to the community,” Triant said.

Sue Perry has been helping with the festival for 66 years.

“My grandparents built the church,” she said. “I was born, raised and baptized there.”

The early meals were sit-down dinners featuring dolmades, orzo with tomato sauce and green beans seasoned with lemon, salt and pepper.

Her earliest task wasn’t glamorous.

“Me and another gal washed silverware all night long!”

Working at the festival is a way for Perry to give back to her church.

“I was raised by a single mother, and I was a single mother,” she said. “Our church was our mainstay and kept us steady. If I didn’t have my church and my faith, I wouldn’t have made it.”

Perry spent countless hours in the kitchen preparing for the festival.

However, a lack of volunteer bakers means that some favorite treats, like powdered sugar-topped kourambiethes and koulourakia – twisted shortbread cookies, had to be ordered fresh and then frozen. But the ever-popular baklava is still baked from scratch.

Baklava baking starts long before the festival. Layers upon layers of flaky Phyllo dough are baked, quarts of sweet syrup are mixed, and pounds of walnuts are crushed.

All that labor translated into lots of delicious pastry.

“We ended up making 10,786 pieces,” said Perry’s cousin, Elene Schumacher.

She also grew up helping with the festival.

“My mother was serving the dinner in 1944,” she said. “I’m carrying on the legacy of the festival – it’s a family tradition.”

Schumacher has served in many capacities over the years. This year, she’s in charge of the pastries and the deli.

“We’ll have Greek pasta, cheeses, olive oil, candy and oregano chips in the deli,” she said. “We usually sell out of everything.”

Triant hopes attendees will sit and stay for a while.

“Hospitality is the name of the game in our culture,” he said.

Schumacher agreed. She said she’s always amazed that many attendees are first-time visitors.

“It’s like taking a little trip to Greece,” she said. “You’ll have a taste of the culture, the food and the hospitality.”

Contact Cindy Hval at dchval@juno.com.