Rochester's Greek Festivals

koularakia = yum

Rochester is lucky enough to have two Greek festivals, and we just went to the "second" one last Sunday. I had the "vegetarian dinner"--spanakopita, Greek potatoes, Greek salad, dolmades, and pita bread--and then a HUGE baklava sundae. We brought home a little bag of koularakia, too.

The festivals are similar: They're both free, and they both offer plenty of delicious food, including pastries and cookies to take home (and those baklava sundaes, yum). You can enjoy Greek wine and beer, watch traditional Greek dancers, and go on church tours. And you can browse the tables selling food products (like olive oil), clothing (spotted: a T-shirt that says, "One ouzo, two ouzo, three ouzo, floor"), jewelry, and religious items and books.

Here are the details on each:

Rochester Greek Festival 
Where: Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, 962 East Ave.
When: Around the first week of June
Parking: Limited free parking in the church's parking lot, plus street parking

Greek Fest 
Where: Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit, 835 South Ave. 
When: Around the last week of August
Parking: Free parking in the garage next to the church