2025 PA GREEK FEST!!!
Friday May 16th 11am-8pm
Saturday May 17th 11am-8pm
Sunday May 18th 11am-3pm
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| Print the Menu! |
| New For 2025 |
| Enjoy Greek Dancing |
| Take a Church Tour |
| Free PAGreekFest Shuttle Service! |
| Our Gift to You! |
New for 2025
- New to this year, we are offering a shuttle service on FRIDAY and SATURDAY only. The shuttle will run from 11 -8 from Highmark's location on Center Street.
- This year, we have decided NOT to do a drive up pre-sale of frozen items and pastries. We just can't make and store enough product to do a pre-sale and have adequate supply for the weekend.
- We have plenty of indoor & outdoor seating for dine-in, and our food is packaged for you to easily take it home. Unfortunately, we do not offer call ahead ordering or pick up service.
"Olympic Flame" Dancers
Friday, May 16th5:30 pm - Junior/Senior Class
Saturday, May 17th12:00 pm – Junior/Senior Class
Sunday, May 18th12:30 pm – Intermediate Class + Junior/Senior Class |
Greek culture is known for its rich history, art, and traditions, and its food and dancing are an integral part of this cultural heritage. The first recorded cookbook in history was written by the Greek Poet, Archestratos in 320 BC. The Ancient Greeks based their cuisine on what was native to the land including wheat, olive oil and plant foods. Modern Greek cuisine continues to emphasize the use of vegetables, herbs, olive oil, lean meats and seafood to create simple, flavorful and healthy dishes from tender grilled meats to fresh fish, syrupy pastries and vibrant vegetable dishes. A traditional Greek dinner may include souvlaki, moussaka and dolmades served alongside a beautiful horiatiki “village” salad. It is often said that “to be Greek is to dance.” Greeks dance with their heart. It is how they express their joy and passion for life. In the Greek culture many important events include dancing such as weddings, baptisms, and other celebrations. The most popular Greek dances include the syrtos, kalamatianos, tsifteteli, and hasapiko, each with their own unique style and rhythm. Greek culture and traditions are closely tied to the Orthodox Christian faith, and many holidays and festivals revolve around the church calendar. For example, the Greek Orthodox Easter is the most important holiday of the year and is celebrated with religious services, feasting, family gatherings and dancing, where many traditional dishes are served. Overall, Greek culture is a vibrant and lively expression of the country's rich history and traditions. From the flavorful cuisine to the energetic dancing, Greeks take pride in their cultural heritage and enjoy sharing it with others. Since no joyous Greek function would be complete without music & dancing, we offer you vibrant, bouzouki music & energetic Greek dancing by our dance group, the Olympic Flames. |
The Olympic Flames story began in the late 1980s when efforts were first made to teach the traditional Greek Folk dances performed at weddings and other celebrations to our young people. These early teachers were parents who volunteered their time to teach our young dancers. The dancers performed annually at our Festival and by the 1990s we had grown large enough to form 3 groups of dancers divided by age. Our dancer’s range in age from 6-18. Our groups regularly perform at our Metropolis of Pittsburgh’s Greek Folk Dance Festival and have traveled to compete in other Greek Folk Dance Competitions. Throughout the years the Olympic Flame dancers have become well known to the local public, which has resulted in an increase in requests to perform at places such as: schools, businesses, and libraries. In 2016 we proudly hosted our fourth Metropolis of Pittsburgh Folk Dance Festival welcoming over 150 dancers to the Harrisburg Hilton and our beautiful Cathedral for workshops and performances.
Our dancers learn and perform dances from all over Greece including the islands and mainland. Our beautiful costumes reflect these various regions.
We wish to thank all those who have supported or contributed to our group over the years. We also want to express our gratitude to our dancers for their spirit, commitment, and dedication. It is their desire for continuing our dancing tradition that will never let the Flame be extinguished!
Holy Trinity Cathedral Tours
Friday, May 16th1:00 pm Saturday, May 17th12:30 pm Sunday, May 18th1:00 pm |
Dear Guests, On behalf of our Community, I would like to warmly welcome you to our 52nd Annual PA Greek Fest! Our Festival chair, committee chairs, and volunteers work hard throughout the year to make this a most memorable event for each and every visitor. Whether this is your first time attending Greek Fest or if it is one of your annual “must-attend” events, we thank you for spending time with us today. A Little About Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral was established in 1937 by Greek immigrants. Our current location was opened in 1970 and consecrated as a Cathedral in 1980. Our Parish is part of the Metropolis of Pittsburgh, under the jurisdiction of Metropolitan Savas, that runs the umbrella of the Greek Archdiocese of America which is a Province of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Patriarchate of Constantinople was established as a Church in 37AD by St. Andrew, the Apostle of Christ. Thus, we may say that this Holy Trinity Cathedral is connected to the Apostles of Christ and thus with the original Church established by Christ which started in 33AD by Christ Himself proclaiming that even ‘the gates of Hades shall not prevail over it”(Matt.16:18). Quite impressive! |
With this, you may say that we observe the history of the Church, and we wish to belong to this sacred Body, the historical Church of Christ. You are right! We have a history of 2000 years and receive the disciplines, practices, and messages throughout the past of the Church. Our Sources of our Christian Faith are the Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.
St. Athanasios the Great (298-373)--Patriarch of Alexandria (Egypt) (326-373)--explained that it is the Orthodox Church alone that adheres to that which “Christ taught, the Apostles preached, and the Church Fathers kept.” Today, there are more than 350 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.
Experience Orthodox Christianity: Church Tours & Services. At some point in your visit, be sure to visit the cathedral. We have added new exhibits this year, which include relics of saints. Once inside, our church tour guides will be happy to talk with you.
Myself, and Father Aaron Gilbert – will hold focused discussions at the following times.
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Friday, May 16th: |
2:00 pm & 5:00 pm |
At 6pm on Saturday, you might want to attend the Great Vespers service which is the first service of the liturgical day. At the beginning of the service, we will explain with a few words its meaning.
Once again, thank you for visiting. If you need anything or have any questions, please ask any of our volunteers. They will be happy to help you.
Gratefully,
Fr. Michael Varvarelis, Cathedral Dean
Free PAGreekFest Shuttle
New for 2025 – Friday and Saturday ONLY.
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New for 2025, PA Greek Fest is partnering with Rohrer’s and Highmark to offer a convenient shuttle for our guests. The shuttle will run from 11:00am to 8:00pm FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ONLY. Because of our limited Sunday operations, we will NOT operate a shuttle on Sunday. There will be two shuttles in operation. The shuttle will originate at Highmark’s Camp Hill office at 1800 Center St. Camp Hill and will drop off on Yverdon Drive at the sidewalk that leads up to our Gyro Booth. Please follow the PA Greek Fest Signs on Center Street and in Highmark’s parking lot which will direct you to the shuttle stop. In the included picture, the yellow path is the way in and the red path is the way out. As you can understand with the amount of traffic, it’s impossible to say exactly on what schedule the shuttle will be available. They will be timed such that they each leave their location at the same time. In non-peak times, we expect the shuttles to depart every 15 minutes. If the shuttle proves to be successful, we will expand the number of shuttles for next year. Thank you in advance for your patience as we work out any glitches with the new process. Given the size of our crowds and the impact on the local neighborhood, this is absolutely the right way to go! OPA!!!
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Our Gift to You!
Our Festival is our gift to you - the good people of the greater Harrisburg area. Our heritage is a precious inheritance; and we are privileged to share it with you, our faithful patrons. The Byzantine atmosphere of our lovely Cathedral, the lively Greek music and dancing and the wonderful aromas of Greek food and pastries combine to make this one of the most enjoyable events that you will ever attend.
In 2024, we were proud to donate a share of our proceeds to the following ministries, projects and organizations:
Vicky's Angels
Caitlin Smiles
CP ARC (thearcpa.org)
Capital Area Coalition on Homeless
Project SHARE
Central PA Food Bank
Downtown Daily Bread
New Hope Ministries
Hospice of Central PA
Pappus House (Hospice Care)
United Cerebral Palsy (UCP)
Flood Relief - Asheville NC
Tunnels to Towers Foundation
Local Fire and Police
Safe Harbour
Community Cares
New Life Center for Mothers and Children
Morning Star Pregnancy Services
Capital Area Pregnancy Center
IOCC - International Orthodox Christian Charities
OCMC - Orthodox Christian Mission Center
Orthodox Mission Churches in Pennsylvania and New York
Holy Protection Monastery
St. Catherine's Philoptochos (Friends of the Poor)
Holy Cross Orthodox Seminary