The OPA! Festival is underway at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Elkins Park, bringing food, dance, music, and parish life onto the church grounds during a milestone year.
The festival runs from Thursday, May 7, through Sunday, May 10, at 7921 Old York Road. This year, the gathering also marks the 125th anniversary of Annunciation/Evangelismos Greek Orthodox Church, a parish with deep roots in the Philadelphia area.
For many visitors, the first stop is the food line. Gyros, homemade dishes, pastries, and other Greek festival favorites are drawing steady crowds. Behind each tray and serving station is the work of parish volunteers, many of whom prepared the food in the days before the festival opened.
Dance is part of the weekend’s rhythm as well. Young dancers from the parish and the wider Delaware Valley are performing in traditional costumes, bringing the music and movement of Greece into the center of the festival. Families gather around the performance area, phones lifted, as children and teenagers carry on dances learned through church, school, and community life.
The festival extends beyond the parish grounds. Admission is free, and shuttle service is available from off-site parking at the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation. The event supports local organizations, including the Cheltenham Volunteer Fire Department and the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation.
For Annunciation, the festival is more than a busy parish weekend. It is a chance to mark 125 years of worship, service, family memory, and Greek-American life in the Philadelphia area. That history is visible in practical ways: in the kitchen, on the dance floor, at the serving tables, and in the volunteers who keep showing up.