SPRINGFIELD — Not many people realize the time and effort needed to create a successful party, which in Greek is translated as “Glendi.”
Xenophon Beake, 92, knows. And so do the more than 100 people, mostly parishoners from St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Springfield, who put their heart and soul each September into creating the popular Greek festival known as Glendi.
“Depending on the weather, we usually have anywhere between 8,000 to 11,000 people who travel from all over to immerse themselves in Greek culture and cuisine,” said Beake, senior member emeritus of the Glendi Management Team, who has been a part of the annual celebration since day one in 1978.
Held at the Greek Cultural Center, adjacent to the Cathedral, Glendi begins on Friday and runs through Sunday. The star of the show is the delicious traditional Greek food, accompanied by live music and dancing, a beer garden, things to buy throughout the festival, raffle prizes and more.
As for the 100-plus volunteers, Beake noted they are “the super glue of St. George, the workhorse of Glendi.”
“Many of these workers, and the cooks who prepare all the food themselves, have made Glendi the success it has been since the first event. Several generations of families continue to make all the Greek delicacies served up every year,” he said.
Joan McGirr is one of the founding volunteers at Glendi. Her family has been making the festival’s Greek salads ever since it opened in 1978.
“My dad, Nick Coidakis, started it. He owned a fruit and produce company, so it was a natural with the ingredients available to him to make the Greek salads,” McGirr said, explaining that it became a family affair right from the start.
“He took pride on how the salads looked, how the tomatoes and cucumbers were precisely cut and exactly where they were to be placed with the olives in the center. He even had a secret recipe for the dressing” she added.
Coidakis died in 2014, but not before sharing with his daughter the “secret” recipe handwritten on a piece of paper – enough to make 20 gallons.
And the salads are always fresh.
“We don’t make them ahead of time. I get there Friday afternoon and with the help of other volunteers we begin the prep work. We’re exhausted by Sunday — it’s nonstop,” McGirr said.
And before all is said and done, McGirr and other family members, along with whom she called “her Irish friends,” have made some 5,000 salads over the course of the three-day event.
“My mom, Kiki, who is 94, won’t let me give it up,” McGirr laughed about keeping the tradition going for years to come.
Salads ready to be served at a past year’s Glendi festival in Springfield. Steve Smith special to The Republican
One of the longest lines — the food lines are all long, Beake noted — can be found outdoors at the gyro tent, where cooks serve up a pita pocket stuffed with seasoned beef and lamb, with tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki sauce.
Kosta Pitaridis, who opened the original Greek Place erestaurant in 1979 in Café Square at the Holyoke Mall, has been making gyros for Glendi for as long as he can remember.
“We do it all — prepare, cook the meat right there in a vertical griller, slice it on the spot, and add the tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki sauce,” Pitaridis said.
He makes the tzatziki sauce from a recipe he uses at his El Greco restaurant in Greenfield.
“I make it with authentic Greek yogurt, sour cream, cucumbers, a lot of garlic, spices, and olive oil,” Pitaridis said.
“We try to do our best with the long lines, but diners don’t seem to mind waiting,” he added.
Gyros and salads are only a small, but very popular, part of an endless menu of Greek specialties to choose from, including full dinners such as a Greek sampler plate, baked fish dinner (Friday only), and a lamb shank meal (Saturday only).
Several years ago, Glendi began offering an a la cart menu to create your own lunch or dinner meal with many items to choose from such as pastitsio, moussaka, spanakopita, rice pilaf, and more, as well as last year’s newly-added Greek lemon potatoes, “a big hit,” Beake said.
For dessert, options include baklava, Greek cookies, rice pudding, diples and more.
To wash it all down, there is a beer tent, as well as soda and other beverages for the younger crowd.
Attendees enjoy a past year’s Glendi Greek festival in Springfield. Steve Smith special to The Republican
The Greek word Glendi means “party.”
And beyond the food there will be plenty to party about with live Greek music provided by Hellenic Express, Greek folk dancing, and the Cretan Dancers.
Greek imports also will be available for sale, and there will be a boutique, as well as an “agora,” a traditional Greek marketplace and an emporium. The emporium is run as a fundraiser by the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society chapter at the cathedral, who will be selling donated items to raise money for their various assistance programs.
For anyone interested in learning more about the Greek faith, Rev. Fr. Dionysios Koulianos will be giving tours of the chapel on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. and the cathedral on Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m.
Admission to the Glendi fundraiser is $2, which includes a ticket for the Glendi Big Raffle. Additional tickets will be available for purchase in the lobby of the Cultural Center. Nearly 10 prizes will be awarded, including a first prize of $1,000 and a second prize of $500.
Credit cards and cash are both accepted at the festival.
Glendi hours are 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral is located on 22 St. George Road.
For more information, visit stgeorgecath.org/glendi or call 413-737-1496.
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