The Greek Festival is one of Rochester's many annual ethnic festivals, and is arguably one of its most popular. It was voted Best Festival by City Newspaper readers in 2006. As the name suggests, it is a showcase of Greek culture, including food, drink, music, dance, clothing, and religion. The Basics The Greek Festival usually occurs in early June or the end of May, and usually runs for 4 days, Thursday through Sunday.
It is located on the grounds of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation at 962 East Avenue. This is the Greek festival most people have come to know and recognize and not to be confused with the second, newer Greek festival, which happens at the end of summer at the new, second Greek Orthodox Church in Rochester, Church of the Holy Spirit, which is at 835 South Avenue. That festival is refered to as the Highland Greek Fest. It usually begins around noon and ends at 11pm or midnight.
Admission is free. Parking can be a challenge at peak times due to the festival encompassing the entire grounds of the Church, parking lots and all, however no one should complain of a little walk down East Avenue on a beautiful summer day. Festival Highlights One cannot describe the Greek Festival without begining with the array of traditional Greek cuisine available.
Everything from the ubiquitous gyro, souvlaki, dolmades, and spanakopita is available, and full and satisfying dinners include lamb shank, half chicken, and moussaka, all with salad and rice pilaf. Also, you can try lesser known Greek foods, like tyropita (a cheese pie) and pasticio (a meaty casserole with a bechamel creamy sauce). Alcohol is readily available, domestic draft for the timid, or for the more adventurous, imported Greek beer and wines, including the infamous resinated white wine, retsina.
At the kafeneion (coffee shop) and the zaharoplasteio (pastry shop) you can get a wide array of Greek sweets and desserts to go with your coffee. Events include daily performances of Greek folk dancing, tours of the church, and cooking demonstrations. You can shop at the agora, or marketplace, which sells everything from souveniers and clothing, Greek CD's, to the more elegant ceramic, jewelry, and sculpture, and a wide array of Orthodox religious items, icons, and books.
The Greek Festival by day is swarmed with visitors from all parts of the Rochester region, but by evening, many of the areas local Greeks can be found drinking and dancing and conversing. The Greek Festival is a representation of the spirit of hospitality that the Greek people are ingrained with, and is not to be missed in Rochester's hectic festival scene.