St. George Greek Orthodox Church and the Fresno community celebrated the 52nd annual Greek Fest, Aug. 24-26, with tons of food, dance performances and live Greek musicians.

Since the 1960s, Greek Fest has grown to become a massive affair, attracting thousands for the three-day-long event at the church grounds.

The church is converted for the festival. There are dozens of shopping booths, or the Agora area, a large amusement park for children with slides, games and movies, a large main stage where the live performances and dancing took place, and plenty of tents providing shade from the August heat.

The church is open during the weekend, and visitors were welcomed to learn more about the Greek Orthodox faith and see the new painted ceiling. Valery Butyrsky, an iconographer from St. Petersburg, spent three years painting the ceiling of St. George along with his wife. The church is open to the public, on Sunday morning and guests were welcome to take part in the Divine Liturgy.
The food at Greek Fest is one of the main attractions for the crowds. In the middle of the grounds, between the food booths, it is impossible to tell where one food line begins and another ends.

According to festival chairman Peterangelo Vallis, up to 25,000 people were expected to attend the event. In 2011, 18,000 people attended.

“We start planning in usually January or February; start cooking the food in June; and cook most of it in July,” Vallis said.
Vallis said that in recent years, turnout has grown so much due to more advertising by the church. With that large growth, the lot itself has become somewhat congested, particularly this past Saturday night. Questions of a venue change are largely dismissed.
“Well, we’re committed to not changing the venue, since our cooking facilities are there,” Vallis said. “But we are committed to figure out how to accommodate the crowds. We have neighbors that are really good to us. They don’t mind when the lot goes more into the neighborhood.”

Kristin Livanis, member of the church and Fresno State alumna, has been volunteering at the event since she was a young child.
“We start preparing months in advance. I know at least in the beginning of the summer we started making all the pastries, and we freeze them. We get started pretty early because it takes a lot,” Livanis said.­ “And I would say most of the food here, we make ourselves. All the volunteers, members of the church, come together, and they make everything.”

Greek Fest is a diverse event. Due to its central location, the event brings in people from all over the city, county and state.
“It is a great representation of the community,” Vallis said.

Livanis said, “I love my church. I love my culture. It’s nice to see that other people of different backgrounds and different cultures come here to share in something that I’m a part of.”