WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – The 34th annual Wilmington Greek Festival concluded Sunday after three days of food, music, and dancing.
The event, which was hosted at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, featured traditional Greek dancing, with children learning the steps and spirit of Greek culture.
Alma Bratcher, who drove from Fayetteville to attend, has been coming to the festival for three years.
“I think it’s the community. It’s the culture, it’s the engagement. Very welcoming,” Bratcher said.
Bratcher said the festival is about giving back.
“Take a look around you. What do you see? You see everybody doing some form of giving back in the end,” she said.
Father Steven Klund, a priest with the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, said hospitality is central to Greek culture.
“In Greek culture, Hellenic culture, the idea of philoxenia, to show hospitality to those who are our neighbors, those who are not ourselves, is a sacred duty. It’s a noble virtue. And it’s something that we pride ourselves on,” Father Klund said.
Proceeds from the festival will support the church and local nonprofits, including the Good Shepherd Center, Hawk’s Harvest, and the Bread for Life Senior Pantry.
“If we didn’t make a cent off of the festival, we would still do it every year because there is something healthy and edifying and productive and constructive for us spiritually by sharing in a noble work,” Klund said.
Bratcher said the festival helps keep tradition alive.
“We want to continue it… so many things are changing around us. We gotta keep culture,” she said. “And the amazing thing is, you can have two left feet. Just don’t look down.”
