By Alex Gryciuk
Lively music, fragrant food, exuberant dancing and a vivid celebration of Greek culture filled the Long Beach community’s Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church this Labor Day weekend from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1.
For $5 admission, attendees could spend their day from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. immersing themselves in the Greek-American community of Long Beach.
Upon entry to the festival, visitors were enticed by rows and rows of colorful artwork and glistening jewelry from diverse vendors.
In addition to traditional vending such as for and artwork, the church hosting the festival sold religious artwork and books. All the proceeds from items sold went directly to the Church’s programs and future services. Photo Credit: Alex Gryciuk
Among these vendors were artists Athoula Medinas and Athanasia Medinas, who were at the festival to showcase their small businesses that offer products celebrating their Greek culture.
Athoula’s business, known as Waste Hazard, presents a collection of hand-crafted art pieces and fine jewelry while Athanasia’s business, A Peace of Greece, offers hand-harvested virgin olive oil, honey and oregano from the mountains of Greece.
“Guests coming to this festival are very interested in learning more about Greek culture,” Athanasia said. “For myself, and Athoula as a Greek artist, their interest in learning more about our history and our inspiration from our brand and what inspires us for our products is really nice to talk about.”
Athanasia Medinas (left) and Athoula Medinas (right) proudly show off their products, including printed artwork, crystals and jewelry. In addition to owning their own business, the pair are travel advisors; they plan to visit Greece next year. Photo Credit: Alex Gryciuk
Having collaborated on product and logo design, Athoula and Athanasia said that they feel their stand represents their spirituality and life experiences as Greek women.
In addition to culturally inspired artwork, vendors also sold a myriad of traditional Greek foods to eager attendees. Among the most popular dishes were souvlaki, tzatziki, gyros, baklava and galaktoboureko.
Throughout the day, students from local Greek dancing studios showcased their skills during performances. Accompanied by oboes, lutes and harmonic singing, dancers of all age levels were encouraged to participate in dances with the performers too.
The immersive cultural experiences through music and food continue to draw in guests every year. For attendee Micheal Duckhorn, the festival was a great way to spend the Labor Day weekend with friends and family.
“We’ve been here on a yearly basis for a few years, since we’ve been in the neighborhood,” Duckhorn said. “It is really an amazing festival. A lot of fun, a lot of food, a lot of music.”
The Long Beach Greek festival is an annual celebration, with this year marking its 75th anniversary.
