GREEK FOLK FESTIVAL

Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Baltimore

Just one block from where one of our less-active Church members lives in the Highlandtown section of Baltimore is South Ponca Street, the site of the annual Greek Folk Festival that is sponsored by St.  Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. The city of Baltimore is well-known for its numerous street festivals associated with the many ethnic cultures that constitute the diverse population of the area. Sister Lindsay and I decided to take a couple of hours on Thursday afternoon to visit this festival on the first of its four days of operation.

The main sanctuary at St. Nicholas is a very colorful and ornate place of worship, and visitors were invited to visit inside the Church building while attending the various activities associated with the festival itself. We found the members of the Greek community who were staffing the festival to be a friendly and gracious people. Everyone we met was willing to have their picture taken and had a happy smile for my camera. There were more people speaking Greek with each other than English, but they had no problem switching to English when we conversed with them.

The food at the festival was wonderful!

Although we were there too early in the day to see the costumed Greek dancers, we certainly didn't miss out when it came to enjoying the great Greek cuisine. The leaders at the festival were quick to point out that there are more than 33 centuries of history associated with the country of Greece and its many cultural traditions. The street vendors were selling everything from puppets to Greek jellies and other preserves, religious icons, t-shirts, and beautiful hand-crafted jewelry. This was a fun activity, and there was no admission costs or parking fee.