Despite challenging weather, Glen Cove’s Greek community came out in full swing for its 45th annual weekend of food, drink, dance, culture and, most importantly, fund-raising for a local Greek parish.
“We’re doing something right here,” said Eleni Pantazakos, who has been chairing the festival for the past four years.
Pantazakos, a Glen Cove native, said she grew up going to the Greek Festival and has watched it grow in magnitude over time. She said she’s been volunteering to work at the festival since she was just 7 years old.
Pantazakos said that while the church does not have a headcount of the total attendance, it was a “packed house.” Despite the rain on Saturday, she said there were vans full of fair-goers and the festival had a “constant stream” of people.
Glen Covers weren’t the only ones to attend the festival, however. She said people from all over Long Island, as well as families from Connecticut and Massachusetts, came to Garvie’s Point.
“The best part was seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces,” Pantazakos said.
She said this year as the festival celebrates its 45th anniversary, the Holy Resurrection Greek Orthodox Church, which organizes the festival with the city’s support, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. But the annual festival provides more for the community than just a good time.
“Anything that we can give back to the community, we do,” said Bobby Tsirakdis, the chair of the church’s board and the festival’s co-chair. “We do a lot of philanthropic work at the church. We feed the homeless, we feed the underprivileged, we help clothe them. A fund-raiser like this is instrumental in helping us do that work.”
A full 100% of the funds raised at the 45th annual festival go to the parish, enabling the group to support both local and international charities with anywhere between $100,000 to $250,000 annually, Tsirakdis said.
Panzatakos said the church does not yet have an estimate on the funds raised. All proceeds will go back to the community, she said. Although most of the funds benefit the church, the organization typically donates to Glen Cove’s youth bureau to help fund city programming.
“We love donating to the city,” she said.
The event featured traditional Greek dance troops and a handful of Greek jewelry, handbags, tea and other items alongside dozens of volunteers cooking up classic Greek specialties like moussaka, spanakopita, triopita, pastichio and loukoumades next to a stand selling Greek pastries and coffee and a trio of King Soulvacki trucks from Astoria, known as the city’s Greek neighborhood.
“We look forward to this. Our kids look forward to it. It connects them to their roots,” Tsirakdis said. “It’s important to keep our heritage alive and give our kids something to identify with.”
The festival’s Greek vendors said they enjoyed the event because it gave them the opportunity to give back and connect with their community.
“We love the people, and we have our customers that follow us here,” said Despina Angelidis, the owner of Mataxios Greek Boutique, which had a tent selling handbags, jewelry and other wares at the event. “My products are from Greece, so we target a lot of the Greek community. But a lot of the other communities love our products because they’re very different from regular products [in the states.]”
Many attendees enjoyed a classic fair scene up a short walkway toward the tip of the water. Over a dozen rides and games, such as swings, a Ferris wheel and balloon pop, were filled with laughing kids. Parents purchased food like hot dogs, funnel cakes, chicken fingers and cotton candy from stands throughout the area.
Tsirakdis said the festival acts as a good way to connect the community with each other, particularly younger people in the digital age.
“Unfortunately, nowadays communities are kind of in a bubble,” Tsirakdis said. “You see it in screen times. Teens just bury their faces in there and can’t interact with their fellow age groups. This is important, so we can interact with people.”
