(Gallery by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com and the Times-Picayune)
INSIDE FESTIVALS
Greek Festival New Orleans turns 40 this year, but don’t expect a midlife crisis from the volunteers who have staged this joyous party near the lakefront since 1973. The basics remain the same, volunteer George Tzavellas said.
“You can’t have a real Greek festival without dancing, food and drink,” he said. “Those things go together. Those things make us happy here in New Orleans, just like they did in the little Greek village where I was born.”
Tzavellas, a retired Gretna restaurant owner who came to the U.S. at age 25, is among the two dozen New Orleans Greeks who have volunteered at the festival for 40 years in a row. This year, he expects to spend most of his time spit-roasting and carving 175 lambs for hungry Greek Fest diners.
“For me, it’s not work to be at the festival,” Tzavellas said. “It’s a trip back to the world of my boyhood, long before television and computers. It’s a world of good friends who love to talk about the old country, the village, the beauty of life. If I take a break from carving or cooking, it’s only to sit down for a minute, to joke a little, to sip some wine for refreshment.”
Ginny Zissis, who directs the 2013 gathering, is another one of those 40-year Greek Fest veterans. She said the festival has some serious, unwavering goals: to share Greek culture with youngsters in their community, and to benefit Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Greek Orthodox institution that provides the festival’s site.
Pursuing those goals involves a lot of joy, Zissis said, noting that a passion for dancing first led her to volunteer with the fest.
In 1973, as a young mother newly arrived from Cleveland, Zissis began teaching Greek folk dances to local youths. She wanted to make sure that she and her husband would always have plenty of company on the dance floor. To judge her success, join the festival crowds that step and shout through swirling circle dances, driven by the bouzouki-powered rhythms of a live Greek dance band.
It’s much the same with other aspects of Greek Fest. This year, for example, volunteers will produce more than 20 traditional pastries – and others will fold the hundreds of boxes required for take-out orders. Volunteers also will dish up fried calamari; spanakopita, stuffed grape leaves, gyros, souvlaki and other Greek foods. Others volunteers will stock a Greek grocery store, or direct visitors to the costumed dance performances, cathedral tours and other familiar festival offerings.
And, yes, the volunteers have tweaked a few details since 1973, helping to make Greek Fest one of the most popular events on the New Orleans calendar.
These days you’ll find that goat burgers are a popular menu item at Greek Fest. Kids love the rock climbing wall, bayou canoe trips and inflatable play areas. For 2013, the organizers have added a poster by New Orleans artist James Michalopoulos. And they have invited a posse of local doctors to explain why Greek food will keep you healthy for years to come.
“We have kept the festival fresh, but we haven’t forgotten our past,” Zissis said. “At the end of the day, we want visitors to stretch out on the grass alongside the bayou, drink a bottle of wine, look up at the stars and be able to think that they are on a Greek island.”
“You can’t have a real Greek festival without dancing, food and drink,” he said. “Those things go together. Those things make us happy here in New Orleans, just like they did in the little Greek village where I was born.”
Tzavellas, a retired Gretna restaurant owner who came to the U.S. at age 25, is among the two dozen New Orleans Greeks who have volunteered at the festival for 40 years in a row. This year, he expects to spend most of his time spit-roasting and carving 175 lambs for hungry Greek Fest diners.
“For me, it’s not work to be at the festival,” Tzavellas said. “It’s a trip back to the world of my boyhood, long before television and computers. It’s a world of good friends who love to talk about the old country, the village, the beauty of life. If I take a break from carving or cooking, it’s only to sit down for a minute, to joke a little, to sip some wine for refreshment.”
Ginny Zissis, who directs the 2013 gathering, is another one of those 40-year Greek Fest veterans. She said the festival has some serious, unwavering goals: to share Greek culture with youngsters in their community, and to benefit Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Greek Orthodox institution that provides the festival’s site.
Pursuing those goals involves a lot of joy, Zissis said, noting that a passion for dancing first led her to volunteer with the fest.
In 1973, as a young mother newly arrived from Cleveland, Zissis began teaching Greek folk dances to local youths. She wanted to make sure that she and her husband would always have plenty of company on the dance floor. To judge her success, join the festival crowds that step and shout through swirling circle dances, driven by the bouzouki-powered rhythms of a live Greek dance band.
It’s much the same with other aspects of Greek Fest. This year, for example, volunteers will produce more than 20 traditional pastries – and others will fold the hundreds of boxes required for take-out orders. Volunteers also will dish up fried calamari; spanakopita, stuffed grape leaves, gyros, souvlaki and other Greek foods. Others volunteers will stock a Greek grocery store, or direct visitors to the costumed dance performances, cathedral tours and other familiar festival offerings.
And, yes, the volunteers have tweaked a few details since 1973, helping to make Greek Fest one of the most popular events on the New Orleans calendar.
These days you’ll find that goat burgers are a popular menu item at Greek Fest. Kids love the rock climbing wall, bayou canoe trips and inflatable play areas. For 2013, the organizers have added a poster by New Orleans artist James Michalopoulos. And they have invited a posse of local doctors to explain why Greek food will keep you healthy for years to come.
“We have kept the festival fresh, but we haven’t forgotten our past,” Zissis said. “At the end of the day, we want visitors to stretch out on the grass alongside the bayou, drink a bottle of wine, look up at the stars and be able to think that they are on a Greek island.”
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