For more than 30 years Greek-Australians have been organizing a Greek Glendi, an annual festival full of Greek food, dance, music, art and culture. Every year thousands of people crowd the event to get a taste of Greek lasagna, gyros or souvlaki.
Popi Ameres, the festival’s head cook said that things were looking good: “it has been nice and steady for lunch, but we are expecting a crowd for dinner tonight.”
Ameres, in collaboration with St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church and the 200 volunteers have been preparing dishes for months, in order to be prepared for the 13,000 expected attendees.
Besides gyro, another Greek delicacy served at the festival is diple, which is a dessert “best served with coffee” according to Pat Lord. A diple is several thin layers of dough, deep-fried and then covered in honey, cinnamon and walnuts.
Pat Lord has always lived in Sarasota and attended the Greek Glendi for many years. “This has really grown. When I first started coming, it was small.”
Furthermore, people have the chance to go through Yia Yia’s Attic, the festival’s marketplace. Every year the organizers collect various donations made to the parish and make a huge collection of small knickknacks — old dolls, photo frames, albums — that fill the marketplace. “When people want to get rid of things, they want to get rid of them right then,” said volunteer Mary Tsottles. “So we collect them all year and sell them here.”
Good food never tasted the same without wine or some liquor, which is why the festival has arranged for a bar. Bartender Steve Zeris, is showing some preference to Greek ouzo, a licorice-tasting liquor. “Only those who enjoy life know what this is,” he said when asked if ouzo was famous outside of Greece.
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