WYCKOFF, NJ – The Greek Festival of the Church of St. Nicholas in Wyckoff, NJ is back and better than eve after a four-year hiatus. The army of volunteers is led by Festival Chairman Evans Agrapidis, who is also the Parish Council President.
The inaugural festival was held in 1970 and this year it will be held on Church grounds Sept. 25-27, with the blessing – literally and figuratively, of Father Basil C. Gikas, the pastor.
Committee member Christina Carmichael to the Wyckoff Suburban news that a new generation of volunteers “stepped up” to cook, bake and organize this year’s festival.
“Many of the people who ran the festival are now older and needed to teach and pass the tradition on to a new generation of volunteers…We are excited that the community can once again enjoy Greek food and traditions,” she said.
One innovation is a tent dedicated to take-out food orders and there is a new menu.
There will be live music and “The festival will include performances by both the junior and senior GOYAN Greek dance group, performing on Friday and Saturday at 7 and 9 PM, respectively; amusement rides; a flea market and a Greek taverna featuring traditional foods and wines including pastichio, spanakopita and moussaka,” the Suburban News reported.
Carmichael said she and her three daughters, Cassandra, 12, Nicoletta, 10 and Adriana, 8 helped the Philoptochos make koulourakia.
Nicoletta said, “It’s really hard to twist the dough into a braid,”
Margaret Kolovos, who is 18, “It is our church recipe. We use sweet butter, not margarine or olive oil, in our koulourakia recipe…We egg wash the cookie and do not add sesame seeds.”
Alexandra Pflager, who has been volunteering for 10 years, was on quality control duty, checking each tray before it was sent to the oven, inspected each tray of hand-twisted koulourakia cookies for conformity before baking them for 20 minutes.
“During the preparations, women will throw out Greek words or phrases and teach others who don’t know the language…We learn words and share tradition,” she said.
Claire Melissas loves working with multiple generations. “I am happy a new generation is willing to help continue the Greek traditions and the festival,” she said.
Parish council member Ted Vittas who has roots in Roumeli is very excited about the festival’s return. He has volunteered for it – he served as its chairman five times, ever since he joined the community in 1990 after growing up in Jersey City.
Vittas said guests will enjoy the return of the ouzerie. “Some people call it the ‘octopus tent’ because they aslo serve delicious, fresh grilled ‘htapodi’ along with other liqueurs and wines.
The organizers consciously created a lot of tent space, giving the event more of an open-air feel than most festivals.
“We have grown so much over the years that we have outgrown the indoor facilities.
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