2023 DATE: June 8-10, 2023
AUTHOR’S NOTE: The Greek Summerfest is now called Canton Greek Fest
This post documents my experience on June 8, 2012.
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St. Haralambos wasn’t your run-of-the-mill martyr. Not only was he 113 years old when he was killed, but he was tortured with hooks and scraped of his skin completely, only to say…
…”Thank you, my brethren, for scraping off the old body and renewing my soul for new and eternal life.”
What a guy! And that was just the beginning of his crazy martyrdom!
So when your beautiful church is named after such an impressive man… .
…you may be expected to go above and beyond your typical annual festival.
Fortunately, the Greek Summerfest was able to do just that!
As with your typical Greek festival…
…it offered the indoor dining hall…
…equipped with a cafeteria-style food line…
…a helpful sample display plate…
…and a small bar.
And, of course…
…there was a pastry room…
…with plenty of tasty Greek treats to pick individually…
…or to take home in a sampler pack.
And, sure, there were vendors…
…the church store…
…and church tours available…
…just like a traditional Greek festival.
But, once I stepped outside the church…
…I found more than what I was used to at a Greek festival…
…like a full-out midway…
…a variety of rides…
…and plenty of games.
It was really impressive!
There was also an interesting blend of non-Greek foods available in back…
…including Italian sausage, french fries…
…and hot dogs.
And, to top it all off…
…lined around the outside dining tent…
…there was a beer truck and even more Greek food…
…including gyros, loukoumades…
…grilled items…
…and saganaki – the flaming cheese!
This was the first time I had seen saganaki offered at a Greek festival and it helped soothe my soul after learning that the festival didn’t carry my favorite Greek dish – moussaka….
…which brought me to eating this gyro I didn’t care for so much (the meat was soft and spongy).
If I would have seen the saganaki frying in the pan beforehand, I would have easily selected this option…
…just listen to those flavors sizzle! Fortunately, I did finish my festival experience on a high note…
…with a tasty piece of galaktoboureko available in the pastry room.