This month, June 28 through 30, the St. John’s Greek Festival will return for food, pastries, and Greek traditions. The event has been a mainstay annual event in Blue Point for over 40 years.
In addition to gyros, spanakopita, moussaka, pastitsio, Greek salad, oven-roasted lamb and more, the women’s organization, called Philoptochos, will be using homemade family baking recipes for a variety of pastries, including everyone’s favorite, baklava, as well as galaktoboureko. There will also be the popular iced Greek frappe coffee.
Another crowd favorite is their famous loukoumades, a hot, fresh, fried-dough pastry topped with honey syrup. Beer and wine, including varieties imported from Greece, are also available.
“Dozens of volunteer church members will put in a lot of work prior to the event with food preparation, set-up, and logistics,” said Fr. Dean Panagos. “Our women’s ministry organizes and prepares delicious homemade pastries from age-honored recipes. Our parishioners volunteer their time and resources over the three-day event.”
“We are honored to showcase the best in Greek food and Greek culture and invite everyone to come and enjoy it,” said Panagos.
In addition, one highlight of the weekend is their youth and adult dance troupes, which perform dances from various regions of Greece.
“It energizes everyone with fun and the Greek spirit,” he added.
The gyros and loukoumades are a fan favorite, and people come from all over to get them.
In addition to the food and dessert, there will be live Greek music, rides and games, and over 20 vendors showcasing clothing, jewelry, Greek items and more for shopping. You can also win up to $10,000 when you purchase a St. John’s mega raffle ticket—only 500 tickets will be sold and multiple prizes awarded!
The church itself was founded in Blue Point in 1953, and has been serving the community for over 70 years. It is actively involved in local philanthropic work in the Blue Point–Patchogue area and throughout Long Island helping to feed and provide clothing and other efforts for those in need, blood drives and more.
The church is currently in Phase 2 of a multi-phase renovation and working to raise $40,000 for the small parish to complete the exterior re-stucco work of the building that is underway. Water leakage into the church structure has caused damage to the beautiful interior Byzantine iconography and the stucco project has been a key step to eventually move forward to restore it and the additional fundraising that will be needed to do so.
Donations can be made through the parish’s website at www.stjohnsbluepoint.org.
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