POCATELLO — The annual end-of-summer Greek Festival is taking place this weekend for anyone who wants to enjoy Greek food and culture before it’s time for school to start.
Father Constantine Zozos said the festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Greek Orthodox Church on North Fifth Ave. and Wyeth St.
“We’re excited,” Zozos said. “It’s one of the largest events in Southeastern Idaho. People come from all over the place to have some of the best Greek food this side of the Mediterranean.”
Zozos said all the food served during the Greek Festival is homemade. The menu will include spanakopita, Greek sausage and roasted leg of lamb. Desserts will include baklava, ouzo cake and karidopita.
“I think we have 15,000 pieces of pastry,” Zozos said.
There will be machines spraying mist on people waiting in line to make the hot weather more bearable, and Zozos said there will be more registers to make the line move faster.
“What we’ve done for the past couple of years now is we’ve closed half of Wyeth St. on Fifth Ave., and we’ve had misters out so people can stay a little cooler,” Zozos said.
The Greek Festival is something that people look forward to all year. It usually has around 6,000 visitors. Many of the visitors who come to the festival are from outside of Pocatello.
“It’s probably the last big thing in the summer,” Zozos said. “We’ve had a hot summer, but we hope the weather will be great and that people will enjoy it.”
Two dance groups will be coming to perform during the Greek Festival. One is from Salt Lake City and the other is a younger group from Ogden, Utah. Zozos said ethnic Greek dancing is great dancing to watch.
“They are terrific,” Zozos said. “They’ll be taking place in our social hall.”
Other activities at the Greek Festival include an Orthodox bookstore and tours of the church, which is 111 years old. It is included on the National Register of Historic Places.
“You won’t find a church like this anywhere in Wyoming, Idaho or Montana,” Zozos said. “It has beautiful iconography and paintings on the walls.”
The money made during the Greek Festival will go toward the restoration of its facilities and to local charities.
“(We give) to local charities all the way up to Idaho Falls,” Zozos said.
One of the best parts about the festival for Zozos is serving Greek food to the community. He said there’s not a lot of Greek food to be found in this area and that people come from all over to taste it.
“I just love meeting people,” Zozos said. “I take the time to go around and thank people and see what they’re doing and what they’re eating.”
More information about the Greek Festival can be found at assumptionpocatello.net.