After a two-year covid hiatus, the beloved Savannah Greek Festival is back bringing the best of Greek culture to the local community.  Initially started as a humble bake sale, the Savannah Greek Festival is now in its 71st year. The festival is fun for the whole family featuring authentic food as well as traditional music and dance during a three-day celebration of Hellenic culture. The fest will take place from Oct. 6 – 8 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Hellenic Community Center on W Anderson St. 

The Food

There’s lots to enjoy during the festival, but the delicious Greek food is definitely the main attraction. People flock to the fest in droves just to savor the mouthwatering Mediterranean cuisine. The festival organizers are prepared to feed the masses. 

“This year, we made over 9,000 dolmades and over 160 pans of spanakopita. We made 120 pans of pastitsio, and we made over 7,000 cookies. So we’ve been quite busy” said Tommy Danos, Savannah Greek Festival chair member. “Savannah loves our homemade Greek food,” he remarked. 

The Fun

In addition to the food, festival goers can enjoy tours of St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church led by Father John Wallace. They can also witness traditional Greek dancing by adult and youth troupes. There will be a marketplace featuring vendors selling Greek clothing, jewelry, religious paraphernalia, cookbooks, and much more. There will also be a Bakaliko, or Greek grocery store, selling Greek food staples like olive oil, grape leaves, and coffee that can’t be found elsewhere in Savannah. 

Danos encourages everyone to come out and enjoy what the Savannah Greek Festival has to offer. 

“It’s kind of like St. Patrick’s Day. You can be Greek for a weekend and people really enjoy that. . . The Greek community has been a part of Savannah for well over a hundred years. . . Savannah knows the Greek community. It knows that we embrace everybody. It’s vital to us to share not only our culture but our faith. We feel very strongly about that and we want everyone to come and have a good time,” said Danos. 

Admission

Admission is free before 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. After 4 p.m. on those days and all day Saturday, admission is $5 per person. Children ages 12 and under are free. To learn more about the Savannah Greek Festival, visit savannahgreekfest.com/. See you there!