Family Services Women and Children’s Shelter is honored to have been selected by St. Michaels as the beneficiary of this year’s Mediterranean Festival. Come out and support us on May 6th from 11am-8pm (rain or shine). Check out Shelly Vitanza’s piece from this month’s events book:
Tabouli! Pastitsio! Dolmades! OH MY! St. Michael’s Mediterranean Festival has become one of the most anticipated one-day eating events of the entire year. Even if you’ve never heard of tabouli (freshly chopped parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions and mint), pastitsio (layers of pasta, ground beef and béchamel cream sauce baked and topped with marinara) or dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), there’s nothing to fear but missing out!
The festival at St. Michael’s Orthodox Church, 690 N. 15th St., actually offers two tracks of eating. The inside track, which serves a traditional Middle Eastern dinner – plate of cabbage rolls, kibbee, green beans and pita bread, plus the individual sale of the most divine pastries, and an outside track, tented a la carte fare in the church’s side yard including authentic Greek & Middle Eastern delicacies with a side of entertainment. Additional food items include handmade falafel (ground chickpeas blended with fresh cilantro, parsley, fava beans, onions); chicken and beef kabobs; lamb and beef gyros; spanakopita (phyllo dough pastry with spinach and cheese); Greek & Middle Eastern coffees, beers and wines; and a variety of pastries and ice cream.
Sit and stay awhile. The day includes lively authentic music and dance as well as a kids’ area with petting zoo, bungee jump and bird performances by Sonny “The Birdman Carlin.” Show times are 1, 3, and 5 p.m. This year, the new addition is the MegaTronix Mobile Media trailer with game consoles for up to 50 players at a time for the older children.
There’s shopping, too. An expanded bazaar will include ethnic groceries, jewelry, T-shirts and church cookbook with all of the festival recipes, as well as wine jugs, copper pots, and antiques from various Mediterranean countries. Tours of the church will be offered three times throughout the day.
Admission is free. Food and drink tickets are $10 for 10 coupons for a la carte purchases. This year pre-sale tickets are available through church members or contacting the Facebook event page. A portion of proceeds will go to the Family Services Women and Children’s Shelter. For more information visit www.stmichaelmedfest.com or follow them on Facebook, as well as on Instagram and Twitter. You can also email stmichaelmedfest@gmail.com with questions.