Panegyri Greek Festival returns for 38th year

The 38th annual Panegyri Greek festival featured authentic Greek cuisine, traditional dancing, live music, church tours, and local vendors.

Visitors from across the region stopped by to celebrate a tradition that has become a summertime staple in Erie.

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“The food, the culture, it’s just a great time. It’s probably one of Erie’s, if not Erie’s best party and cultural event,” Jerome Simon, a co-chair for the festival, said.

Every dish served and every dance performed, is rooted in Greek heritage and made possible by dozens of dedicated volunteers.

“A lot of it is homemade, which we’re happy to be able to do for everybody, and just seeing everybody from the community come out and seeing the smiles on their faces. Getting to share a little of our culture with them, that’s maybe a little more foreign to some of them,” Niko Nacopoulos, an instructor for the Erie Hellenic Dancers, said.

“Well, that’s exactly what it does, it shares it with the Greek community. When the dancers do their dancing, they’ll identify what part of Greece this dance is from and everything. Just keeping the culture alive,” Simon said.

Preparations for the event started way back in January.

“So we’ve been prepping for months, honestly, and it’s a lot of work, but we come together. We’re like a family here, so we just all put in our hours here. You know whether it’s cooking, or running stuff, you know, having to run to the store to get a bunch of stuff, putting it all together,” Nacopoulos said.

The festival continues through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. with free admission and free parking for all visitors.