St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church hosted its annual Greek festival over the weekend, bringing together food, games, music and culture for three days on the church grounds in Niles.
For Father Tilemahos Alikakos, the annual tradition holds a special place. He grew up in the church community and as a boy, he both attended the festival and volunteered there as a boy – working in the admissions tent. Alikakos worked it with a girl who would later become his wife.
“My favorite part of the weekend is welcoming people,” he said. “There are a lot of memories here. A lot of good memories.”
This year, the festival took place from Friday to Sunday. Vendors were posted inside the church, and there were also carnival-style games families could play.
At cultural festivals like this, the food is usually the star.
At the St. Haralambos event, all the food was made by hand, by a small army of volunteers who work for months to prepare for the big weekend. Two people, Angela Margaris and Panagiotis Zervas, worked a broad charcoal grill, turning chickens. Over the course of the weekend, Margaris estimated about 2,000 birds would be grilled. That’s in addition to the souvlaki skewers and lamb.
“Greek people like to eat, we like our food,” said Margaris.
Zervas said he and the other cooks don’t mind the work. For them, they’ve been watching it happen since they were kids and eating the food their entire lives. Since they were old enough, they’ve been at the grills or in the kitchens, working – then eating. They know their stuff, Zervas said.
“This is second nature to us,” he said about preparing fare. “At every family event, it’s food, food, food. You know exactly what it should look like and this is how it works.”
And the food brings the crowds.
Emily Komitas, of Lombard, attended with her son, who announced he is 4-and-a-half years old and was having a good time – lemonade in hand.
“He loves gyros and lemonade,” his mother said.
She said Greek fests are a common weekend visit for them, so Kosta can get his fill.
“Then we go play games,” she said. “And this is beautiful weather.”
The food is one of the big draws for the weekend, which is an event Alikakos said draws about 20,000 people to the church on Caldwell Avenue. Not only is the weekend event a chance to eat with friends, but also an opportunity to show off the church, which he said he loves to do.
“At least half of the guests aren’t orthodox, so it’s their first time visiting an actual church if not the festivities,” he said.
Vaea Kakureotis, a member of the church and an event volunteer, said she loves welcoming people. For her, she said, it’s the most important role for her church: Bringing people in, helping them feel loved, wanted and part of a community.
That sense of community, even more than the food – which she also praised – is said to be at the heart of the Greek Orthodox Church.
“The orthodox church is for anyone who is hurting or is unhappy,” she said. “Anyone we welcome. Anyone can come. We welcome anyone to come and learn about us and to pray with us. I think people are looking for connection.”
If not, though, the food is still good.
“It’s a great way to try the food,” Kakureotis said. “We have octopus. We have frappes. We have lamb, lukumades, souvlaki, gyros, moussaka and pastitsio, which is like a Greek lasagna with a bechamel sauce and phyllo dough.”
Jesse Wright is a freelancer.
