Grand Rapids celebrates Greek food, dancing at Yassou Festival

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Fifteen years ago, Esther Koukios co-founded the Grand Rapids Greek Cultural Festival to strengthen the Greek traditions in its youth.

14 festivals later, the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church is sharing its food, music and dance with over 80,000 attendees over the course of its two-day festival.

Thousands fill the parking lot of the church. The aroma of spices, grilled meats and flaming cheese wafts from one side and the sweet smells of cinnamon and honey wash over you from the other.

The lines of hungry customers may wind through much of the festival grounds, but with 15 years of practice, the volunteers have learned how to move quickly.

“We’ve been listening to the community, and we want to make sure we’re showing up in the way that they ask us to,” Tiana Petricevic, the festival’s co-marketing chair, said.

Feeding 80,000 mouths a spread of homemade gyros, baklava and souvlaki is a feat that requires dozens of volunteers, months of planning and two weeks of cooking and preparation before the festival, she said.

Over the years, they have also expanded entertainment by planning performances from multiple groups from the ages of 2 to 20 and older, complete with traditional Grecian dress and live music played by the band Oneiro.

As a life-long member of Holy Trinity’s congregation, Petricevic has witnessed these changes first hand.

The church welcomed Petricevic’s parents into its parish three decades ago when they couldn’t find a Serbian Orthodox church in the area.

“We’re not even Greek,” Petricevic said, “And it’s a blessing to grow up in this community and then also to be able to extend that hospitality, community, food, dance, and culture to the rest of Grand Rapids.”

The Greek Cultural Festival continues through Saturday, Aug. 16.

Below is the schedule for the rest of the festival:

Saturday, Aug. 16

• 11 a.m.-10 p.m.: The restaurant, bakery and bar open for fresh, traditional Grecian fare
• 1:30 p.m.: Church tour
• 3-10 p.m.: Live music from Oneiro
• 3:30 p.m.: Greek cooking demonstration
• 4 p.m.: Church tour
• 5 p.m.: Traditional Greek dance performance (little angels & elementary group)
• 5:30 p.m.: Greek cooking demonstration
• 6 p.m.: Traditional Greek dance performance (middle school group)
• 7 p.m.: Church tour
• 7:30 p.m.: Traditional Greek dance performance (high school group)
• 8:30 p.m.: Traditional Greek dance performance (young adults group)
• 8:45 p.m.: Traditional Greek dance lesson

For more information on the menu and schedule, visit grgreekfest.com.

MLive/Grand Rapids Press photojournalist Chloe Trofatter was there to capture the event. Check out the full gallery above, or click here.