MANSFIELD — There aren’t a lot of places to hear the Greek language spoken in Richland County.
But if you stop by the Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in the days leading up to the Greek Festival, the odds are pretty good.
Preparations are underway for this year’s festival, which takes place on May 17 and 18.
Half a dozen women gathered in the church kitchen last week, where they spent hours preparing sweets. Traditional Greek music played in the background as they worked, piling layers upon layers of tissue-paper-thin philo dough for homemade baklava.
Many of them have been cooking for the festival since its inception more than 40 years ago. Christina Aivaliotis, the festival’s coordinator, said many of the recipes they use were brought over from Greece.
This year’s festival runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. both days. Entry is $1 and a variety of sweet and savory homemade Greek dishes will be available for sale. Drinks, including alcoholic beverages, will also be available for purchase.
Staple favorites include lamb, chicken, gyros, stuffed grape leaves, meatballs, pastichio, spanakopita and loukoumades — just to name a few.
Proceeds from the festival support the church’s operations throughout the year. But the Greek Festival has also become a beloved tradition for parishioners and the community at large.
“It’s a time that we’re able to share our culture, our heritage, our religion,” Aivaliotis said. “We have people that travel from all over to come to our festival for the food and for the kefi — that good time.”
“We’re thankful to the community for constantly supporting us throughout the years.”
As always, this year’s festival will include live performances of traditional Greek music and dancing.
Greek Festival date corresponds with commemoration of church’s patron saints
Father Michael Ellis said the festival is always held around May 21, the feast day for the church’s patron saints.
Helen (sometimes known as Helena) was a faithful Christian who influenced the spiritual journey of her son, fourth century Roman Emperor Constantine I.
Ellis referred to Constantine as a sort of “late bloomer.”
“Constantine has actually a quite a sordid history, but then later in his life, he really found himself drawn to Christ,” he said.
“Saintliness doesn’t imply a sinless life. It implies that at some point in their life, they found Christ so much to the fact that it changed their life so dramatically that big things came out of it.”
Aivaliotis said anyone curious to learn more about the Greek Orthodox Faith is welcome to tour the church and talk with the priest during the festival.
