Greek music, dancing and art; the aroma of roasted meats and savory entrees; and a wide variety of sumptuous sweets enticed parishioners, neighbors and visitors to the Greek festival at St. John the Baptist Hellenic Orthodox Church, 15 Union Park Street, Friday through Sunday, September 23 through 25. Last weekend's festival welcomed approximately 2,000 guests to eat, drink and be merry and explore Greek traditions.

The event, which is important to the parish both socially and financially, coincided with South End Open Studios, giving art lovers a place to relax, refuel and enjoy the parish's rich cultural heritage.

The church served as an Open Studios venue, with religious art as well as landscapes and other paintings by plein air artist Harikleia Kuliopulos, who works in the parish office. "We always coordinated the festival with South End Open Studios. We show our Byzantine icons and give church tours and that is part of Open Studios," Kuliopulos explained.

While Friday night's festivities were accompanied by recorded Greek music, the Greek band Arion played on Saturday and Sunday evenings. People of all ages, from toddlers to seniors, held hands and danced the intricate Greek steps, fortified by the generous array of Greek delicacies offered. Dining at the Greek festival is such that many guests order food and desserts to take out as well as to eat at the event, and Kuliopulos reported that neighbors begin calling the church weeks in advance to find out the dates of the festival.

In the week leading up to the festival, the church's Facebook group recruited volunteers to prepare the food and desserts in its kitchen. "If you have some time, come over to learn the secrets of making the perfect baklava!" the post beckoned. Main dishes included Moussaka (Greek casserole), pastitsio (layered meat and pasta), souvlaki with chicken or pork and the very popular lamb shank dinner. Even the side dishes are memorable: tyropita (cheese pie with phyllo), spanakopita (spinach pie), fasolakia giaxni (string beans simmered with onions in tomato sauce), roasted potatoes redolent with garlic, lemon, olive oil and oregano. As if all that weren't enough to satisfy the most demanding appetite, over a dozen heavenly desserts including Baklava, kataifi, melomakarona, rizogalo (creamy rice pudding), koulourakia, bougatsa and more beckoned, accompanied by coffee, wine and Greek spirits.

By Sunday dinnertime, most of the entrees and most of the desserts, which feature honey, pistachios, cinnamon and delicate phyllo dough, were sold out. In the parish hall, a pre-Christmas bazaar offered table linens, lace, afghans and Christmas-themed serve-ware.

While the festival is integral to the church's fundraising, the parish sees a wide range of benefits in hosting the Greek festival. Kuliopulos observed, "The purpose of the event is multi-faceted. An important part is community; bringing parishioners, their families and friends, neighbors, and the wider South End community together to have fun. It's also a time to celebrate our Greek culture: music, cuisine, sweets, specialty drinks, dance, art, sacred and secular, and hospitality, both within the Greek community and with our neighbors in the South End, art lovers here for the annual South End Open Studios, and many others who travel to St. John's for this event. Our former neighbors from the store across the street, Old Japan, which recently closed, invited a friend who traveled from New York City to enjoy our June picnic. Finally, the festival is a fundraiser for the parish; the proceeds contribute to general operations, upkeep of our historic building, and ministries such as youth programs and religious education. It's really nice for us that so many people from the South End community and people from out of town come and enjoy [the festival] and the open studios. We enjoy reaching out beyond our own Greek community; it's fun for us."