Eat, drink and Opa!: ABQ Grecian Festival showcases traditional food, music and dance

Experience a little bit of Greece in the middle of the Duke City during the ABQ Grecian Festival.

The three-day event celebrates all things Greek with food, drink, dance, music and vendors selling items inspired by the country and its islands throughout the Aegean and Ionian seas. The festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 5, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, at the St. George Greek Orthodox Christian Church grounds, 308 High St. SE.

Eat, drink and Opa!: ABQ Grecian Festival showcases traditional food, music and dance

“We want people to immerse themselves in aspects of Greece for a few hours and enjoy the Greek culture,” said Diane Kapuranis, chairperson of the ABQ Grecian Festival.

The Greek food and pastries are some of the big highlights of the festival.

“For the most part, the pastries are made from scratch and the baklava is the most popular of course,” Kapuranis said. “Those always go fast so you want to come, if you want pastries, you need to come Friday or Saturday.”

Baklava is a popular Greek dessert that is baked with layers of walnuts, butter, filo, cinnamon and clove. A chocolate baklava with a velvety chocolate drizzle and a baklava cheesecake will also be available. Other pastries on the menu include paximádia (crunchy twice-baked almond cookies), kourambiédes (butter and almond cookies), koulourákia (butter cookie twists), tsourékia (lightly sweetened braided bread) and a limited glykó koutí (pastry variety box).

Cooking lessons will be held in the Tavérna. At 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, guests will learn how to make mezedákia, an assortment of appetizers, and at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, learn how to make galaktoboúreko, a custard-filled filo pastry. Several classes will be taught on Saturday, Oct. 5, including how to make gigándes plakí (baked lima beans – vegetarian) at 1:30 p.m., baklava at 4 p.m., and horiátiki saláta (village salad) at 6:30 p.m.

There will be plenty of traditional Greek foods to fill up on. Menu items include kóta riganáti (oregano chicken), psitó arní (roast lamb), pastítsio (casserole), souvláki (skewered meat), saláta (salad), patátes (potatoes), yemátes patátes (loaded taters), piláfi (rice pilaf), dolmádes (grape leaves stuffed with rice and spices), mezédes (a medley of feta cheese, Kalamata olives and pepperoncini) and spanakópita made with spinach, cheese and herbs folded in filo. Festival favorite, gyros made with slices of beef and lamb on fresh pita bread topped with chopped onion, tomato and fresh tzatziki sauce, will also be available.

Dance off the calories during Greek dance lessons at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, and Saturday, Oct. 5, under the large tent. Eventgoers can also sit back and enjoy Grecian dance, Aegean sounds and Byzantine music performances under the tent. Dancers range in age from children to young adults.

“The highlight is all the different age groups,” Kapuranis said. “(Attendees) really enjoy it. I was just talking to one and they found out I was the chairperson and they said, ‘We enjoy coming back to watch the dancers and watch as they grow up in the different dance groups and how they improve their skills.’”

Shopping is another fun part of the event. Vendors have a wide range of wares including Greek-inspired wearables, jewelry and art. Visitors can also take a tour of St. George Greek Orthodox Christian Church each day of the festival. Tours last between 30 and 45 minutes. Live Byzantine chanting begins 30 minutes prior to each tour. A church tour schedule can be found on the festival website at abqgreekfest.com.

Visitors are encouraged to take advantage of the free park and ride located at the southwest corner of Lomas and University boulevards NE. Guests can park their vehicles and jump on a shuttle bus that will take them to and from the event at no charge.

Attendees also are urged to purchase their Festbux online prior to coming to the festival. Festbux are $1 each and will be the currency used at the festival to purchase food, drinks and pastries. Some vendors will also accept Festbux. There will be Festbux available for purchase at the festival and are available on the event website.