Oakmont Greek Food Festival returns with bigger layout and menu than last year

The Oakmont Greek Foods Pageant is returning with a more substantial structure and menu.

This marks the 48th year for the festival, presented by the Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church at 12 Washington Ave.

Meals will be served from midday to 9 p.m. June 24-26. Are living audio and leisure is envisioned to continue on until eventually 11 each and every evening.

Event co-chairman Andy Gavrilos claimed organizers have combined some of the features used all through the pandemic with a a lot more standard format that followers of the 3-working day fundraising celebration could acknowledge.

“We are returning closer to our pre-covid format, but we are employing some matters that we’ve uncovered about the past couple of years,” Gavrilos reported. “We had to hedge a small little bit in opposition to a doable resurgence. This year’s a little little bit of a hybrid model.”

Format involves a large tent in the front whole lot and additional outside seating to complement indoor dining in the most important corridor. Pastries and honey balls will be at their conventional area, at the constructing across from the major corridor.

There will be 3 strains in the primary corridor for men and women to order anything but desserts, such as gyros. Past festivals highlighted a different gyro line.

Signature dinners these types of as Chicken Alexis, lamb shanks, pork souvlaki and the church’s famous gyros will be offered when provides very last. Beef meatballs, inexperienced beans and rice pudding are again on the menu.

Desserts returning right after a temporary hiatus involve apricot baklava kataifi, a nut combination wrapped in shredded filo and baked galatoboureko, a custard treat baked into levels of filo and kourambiethes, butter cookies topped with powdered sugar.

Also on the table will be pastry variety packs, a prepackaged assortment of group favorites designed the earlier handful of a long time to enable with takeout through the pandemic.

Pageant setting up began in January. Source-chain challenges and inflation have impacted the competition as most of the goods price tag $1 much more than previous year.

“Anyone who’s been to a grocery store can see what selling prices have finished,” Gavrilos reported. “We’ve accomplished what we can to preserve charges at very last year’s amounts, but naturally we’ve experienced to elevate some. It expenditures a large amount far more to get the stuff.”

On the web purchasing with curbside pickup is out there. Folks have to purchase by 8 p.m. a day prior to pickup. Far more information and facts is offered at us.orderspoon.com/oakmont-greekfest-on the web.

Customers also can buy frozen fifty percent-pans of spanakopita and pastitso. Each have at the very least 12 servings.

Tens of hundreds have frequented Oakmont for former festivals. Gavrilos stated he is not sure what to foresee this time all over.

“We are anticipating a good crowd,” Gavrilos stated. “I really do not know if it will be 2019 stages, but I consider it will be nearer to that than it was final calendar year. There is nonetheless some individuals anxious about going out.

“Our expectation is we’re going to have a effective pageant. Almost everything we’ve heard from people is that they’re psyched that we’re returning back closer to normal. We’re on the lookout ahead to viewing all people all over again.”

Dollars transactions are prohibited. Debit or credit playing cards will be recognized.

Missing dancer

Between the thrills of the competition in addition to foods are performances by the Grecian Odyssey Dancers and the Junior Grecian Stars.

1 individual who parishioners and other individuals will sadly not be celebrating with is the late Peter Papadakos.

A treasurer and longtime member of the Grecian Odyssey Dancers, Papadakos of East Pittsburgh passed absent Jan. 14 from covid and pneumonia difficulties. He was 66.

Papadakos was a chanter and head of the church’s songs office.

Gavrilos explained he will unquestionably be on people’s minds.

“Oakmont was his church,” Gavrilos claimed. “He did a good deal of matters not just for our church, but for other area churches as nicely as our diocese in Pittsburgh. The dance team has endured losses before. Likely not to the magnitude of the loss of Peter, but as we know the exhibit will have to go on when you are in that enterprise. Peter will definitely be skipped. I’m absolutely sure he will be on everyone’s intellect.”

There could possibly be some exclusive recognition for Papadakos at the pageant.

A lot more information and facts about the party is readily available at dormitionpgh.org or by calling 412-828-4144.