The Greek Festival

A traditional end of summer favorite. It's always the Friday, Saturday, Sunday and of Labor Day weekend.Great festival celebrating Greek culture. Lots of Greek food, singing, dancing and cultural activities.

The Columbus Greek Festival is an event I look forward to each year! Why? It's usually a great time to grab some yummy greek food and maybe a Greek beer or two while enjoying the cultural dance from the churches youth. It feels like you're at a Big Fat Greek wedding (without the getting married part). I got some of my favorite dishes like spanakopita, moussaka, stuffed grape leaves. Plus the star of the night..baklava!! So good. My friend got a gyro and said it was one of the best he had ever tasted. We were lucky to get some seats around the dance floor so we enjoyed listening to the traditional Greek music and watching the kids dance with with grandma and grandpa on the dance floor. It was just wonderful seeing all the beautiful smiles at this festival. If you want some good family fun, check out the Greek Festival. Your ticket is good for the whole weekend.

This is a must attend every year in Columbus! The food is authentically prepared and served hot INSIDE the church only. Don't settle for the fast food of gyros and fries outside. Dolmades, mousakka, pastitsio, spanakopita ... yum!!

Boy do the Greeks know how to have a good time! And where best to have that good time? At church, of course. Columbus's Greek community has been celebrating their heritage with a 4-day festival for almost 40 years every Labor Day weekend. It takes place at the beautiful Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation. The festival opens Friday morning and closes shop Monday evening. The $5 admission is well worth it, especially since it gives you re-entry for the entire duration of the festival. First and foremost, the food is unbelievable and very well-priced. It should be since most of it is made by the congregation. You can bank on finding the usual suspects: Pastitio, Mousaka, Spanakopita, Tyropita, Keftedes, and Greek Salad, as well as a vast array of pastries. The food is served up very simply cafeteria-style. Grab a tray, pick a line and work your way through the various dishes- then pay up at the very end. There's plenty of pincic-table style seating both inside and outside the church. There is even a courtyard off to one side, where (if you're lucky enough to get a table) one can escape the hustle and bustle of the main festival area. A bulk of the festival takes places in the area along High Street, where Hellenic singers, dancers, actors, and a variety of other entertainment continues non-stop, from sun up to sun down. When the Festival Dancers are not formally performing, everyone can join in the dancing. Outdoor vendors sell Greek fast food (like gyros and kebabs), greek coffee and plenty of booze. You'll find beer, wine and of course, the ouzo flows unendingly. I'm not a fan of open roasting of animals, but they do hold a traditional lamb roast dinner. Tours of the amazing Byzantine-style cathedral are offered on a regular basis. Even if you do not go on a formal tour, gotta check out the mosaics. They are very special. An icon exhibition is on permanent display in the church, but during the festival, vendors line the halls of the church, sellings art, textiles and small icons.I have never come to the festival more than one day each year, but I have attended different days and hours from year to year- and must admit, every single time has been fun in a different way. Ulike other festivals, where I tend to skip a year or two before going back, I do not easily tire of the Greek Festival.

This is the biggest fundraiser for the church and is held every Labor Day weekend.It's a good opportunity to show off the beautiful church and Greek culture. There's a section for history which includes traditional garb. One room had cooking demonstrations. The Cathedral is open for tours and people are welcome to join in the services.There's a market place which had jewelry, clothing, and figurines. Food, dancing and music are the big draws.

There are great places to get your Greek food fix around town, but my favorite by far is the food served at the Greek Festival! Pastisio, Greek fries (fries are my happy place), Baklava, Gyros, and the Lamb...so delicious! The volunteers working the festival are some of the friendliest people around, the performances and music are both lively and make you want to move your body even if you don't know the moves (there's always someone willing to teach or share their culture if you want to learn though!) Beautiful jewelry, art, woodwork, and clothing are all for sale as well. Facts about the country & culture line the halls of the church, the courtyard is beautiful & there is an area for kids to craft. You can do wine tastings, and even check out a cooking demo!For only a small $5 donation to the Greek Orthodox church this festival is worth every cent!

I've lived in Columbus my entire life, yet 2014 was the first time I've ever attended the Greek Festival. I'm marrying a Greek this year, which has a lot to do with it too. $5 admission gets you in for the entire weekend, which seems like a deal, but I wonder how often people do a return visit. If I lived closer I probably would have gone back for a second helping of Greek desserts, yum! One draw back is that it is hot outside when they hold this festival. You can go inside, but then you encounter more people. The food prices are a a bit pricey, but I didn't have one thing I regretted ordering. Lemon Chicken-yum. Baklava-decent. Pastitsio-delicious. I can't even name the other desserts I ate, but they were good. I like desserts, and lots of them. If you can stand the heat, admission fee, and slightly high food prices, the festival is worth checking out. There are cultural demonstrations & tours scheduled throughout the running of the event, all which are pretty cool. Check it out for yourself!

Talk about a variety of aurhentic foods! This is the festival you want to hit for small bites. The first thing I ordered was the calamari. They really really dropped the ball on this. I literally threw it out after 2 bites. It was "leftover fried food". The breading was detached and it was room temperature. Just awful. The portion size was tiny for $10. After that, it was all good.... the fries... double fried to perfection, appropriately spiced, not over salted. Gyro pita was steamed and warm, lettuce was cold and crisp, tziki was smooth and not overpowering, the meat was that flavorful lamb beef mystery hybrid that Americans love... a good combo. Lemon potatoes: so good, great texture, mild lemon, with a starchy finish. Lamb chops: marinated, good char, tough, overcooked but it's Festival food, expected. Stuffed grape leaves: some of the best I've had... perfect mix of tang, salt, herbs, and light lemon.

Went here last Friday evening. A wet night, so it wasn't too crowded.Food was good, not great. Got a gyro, meat a just a bit dry.Lots of choices for food.Shops were very nice.Cathedral was open to the public. Very beautiful.

The food, the dancing, the church, the atmosphere, the art and crafts...this is a great festival. I am so glad I got to check it out. Did I mention the food...you have to try the lamb chops ($7 for two chops with pita) and I personally loved the olives. Fifty cents for about seven or eight of them but, I don't know why they taste so good, but they do. The church is so gorgeous, make sure to check it out. I was not a fan of the greek white wine but liked the greek beer, my only wish is there was some sort of draft, I am not a bottled beer person.Check this festival out, I recommend it! :)