Elkins Park, PA – Stacked four inches high, thick slices of Pastitsio were served to long lines of hungry Greek food lovers this weekend. But that was just the start. Baked chicken and of course Gyros by the bunch, were also among the food favorites. But truth be told, they had it all from Baklava to Greek coffee and everything in between. More than one hundred years old, the nation’s 6th oldest Greek Orthodox community – Annunciation in Elkins Park welcomed guests of every age again to its annual festival.
“It’s the people, the bonds through the generations all coming together to celebrate Hellenism,” said one Greek food lover standing in the food line. Memorial day weekend in this corner of the Philly suburbs means Greek food, fun and family entertainment. Games and rides for the kids in the front parking lot kept the kids busy, while moms and dads enjoyed a meal on the church lawn, made right inside the church kitchen by volunteer parishioners, who worked tirelessly through the weekend.
An enormous white tent hosted the entertainment. Traditional folk dancing and live Greek music were featured throughout the event free. Family members and neighbors alike looked on and sometimes jumped in to do some dancing together, bonding this community for another year.