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44 facts about one of Manchester’s favorite food festivals and the community that keeps it going

In honor of the 44th Glendi, the celebration of Greek food and culture and the Greek community at St. George Orthodox Cathedral in Manchester, here are 44 facts about the annual party known as Glendi.

1 According to George Skaperdas, the president of St. George Orthodox Cathedral in Manchester, “glendi” means “celebration.” “It’s a party,” he said. “It celebrates our heritage, our culture, wanting everyone around us to enjoy what we do. It celebrates friendship.”

2 For the past 44 years, the church has been hosting Glendi to do just that, while simultaneously raising money for the church. See stgeorgenh.org/activities/glendi for more on the festival and the church.

3 Originally a harvest bazaar among the members of the church, Glendi has become a three-day cultural event for the whole city of Manchester.

4 This year the festival will be on Friday, Sept. 15, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 16, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

5 Skaperdas says tens of thousands of people attend each year, fluctuating depending on the weather, with a clearer forecast attracting more people. You can frequently run into candidates for office (city, state and sometimes presidential hopefuls) as well as your gyro-loving neighbors.

6 There will be parking at McDonough Elementary School in Derryfield Park, 550 Lowell St., in Manchester, and shuttles running from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on Friday and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday.

7 Festivities include music, raffles, face painting, an Aegean Market and, of course, food.

8 Some 50 to 100 raffle items are up for the winning, such as puzzles, bikes, games, a TV and gift cards.

9 There will also be multiple church tours staggered throughout Friday and Saturday afternoon.

10 The roots of the church can be traced back nearly 120 years, to when the Hellenic community of St. George was established by Greek immigrants in 1905.

11 Before the construction of the cathedral at 650 Hanover St., which began in the mid 1960s, the church was on Pine Street, at a location it eventually outgrew.

12 Like most things, Glendi looked a little different in 2020. Having to cancel due to the pandemic, the church got creative and decided to host “Taste of Glendi,” a drive-thru-style event to serve Greek cuisine.

13 Upon returning in 2021, they came prepared with hand sanitizing stations and thousands of masks and asked people to practice safety precautions. “[We were] holding onto [our] seats for the next two or three weeks to make sure that people didn’t get sick,” Skaperdas said. “There was no spike so we were fortunate. We provided a lot of fun for the people who attended.”

14 Food will be available from the moment the festival opens at 11 a.m. each morning. The kitchen closes at 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 5 p.m. on Sunday.

15 Food in the dinner line will be served cafeteria-style. You can choose what you would like in an à la carte manner as you go down the line, or choose from dinners on the menu board.

16 Dinner menu options include seasoned and marinated lamb barbecued over charcoal, baked lamb shanks roasted in Pappou’s secret tomato sauce (pappou means grandfather in Greek), Greek meatballs covered in Yiayia’s secret tomato sauce (yiayia means grandmother), stuffed peppers filled with rice and meat topped with tomato sauce, dolmathes, a chicken dinner marinated and baked with Grecian herbs, and pastichio. All are served with rice pilaf, a roll and Greek salad.

17 While the full recipe is secret, Skaperdas says Pappou’s secret tomato sauce includes spices, drippings from the lamb as it baked, onions and garlic.

18 According to George Copadis, a long-time organizer of Glendi, 3,500 dolmathes, which are grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice, will be made for the event. Each leaf must be hand washed, cut and rolled before being baked and covered in lemon sauce, Skaperdas said.

19 In addition to the dolmathes, Copadis says a total of 2,000 pounds of lamb kabobs, 2,500 pounds of lamb shanks, 4,000 meatballs, 2,000 pounds of chicken and 6,000 salads will be made for the festival.

20 Of all the meals served, Skaperdas says the lamb shanks are the most popular, with lamb kebabs also being up there. “The stuffed peppers are always wonderful,” he said. “This year they tell me they’re even better than before, so I can’t wait to try them.”

21 “The most popular dessert by far are the loukoumades,” Skaperdas said. These are fried dough balls soaked in honey or syrup coated with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

22 Second to the loukoumades is baklava, which are layers of filo dough filled with honey and walnuts.

23 Other sweet treats for sale include kataifi, shredded filo with syrup and walnuts, baklava nut rolls and pecan blossoms, spanakopita, which is layers of filo dough with a spinach and cheese filling, as well as a variety of cookies. These items are usually found at a separate table inside the church’s hall — in case you want to grab some desserts before dinner.

24 Added to this year’s dessert menu are vegan cookie options, like orange ring cookies, almond and lemon round cookies and cinnamon koulourakia.

25 Running the kitchen is Seth Theokas, who has been volunteering in the kitchen for about 15 years. His involvement with the church began in 2008 when he and his wife wanted to baptize their first son. It was then suggested that he volunteer for Glendi.

26 While it is fast-paced with a sense of urgency, he says the atmosphere in the kitchen is full of camaraderie. “It’s such a great group of people, it’s for a good cause and everybody has fun,” Theokas said.

27 Theokas’s personal favorite on the menu is pastichio, which he says is like a Greek lasagna with seasoned meat, noodles and bechamel. He also loves the stuffed peppers.

28 According to Skaperdas, about 60 to 70 volunteers are usually involved in the kitchen.

29 It truly takes a community to run the festival. While many of the volunteers are members of the church, Theokas says a great deal of them aren’t. “It takes so many people including members and their families and friends,” he said. “I’ve had friends in the kitchen who have never been to the church but they were willing to give their time to help in the kitchen and now they’re kind of part of that family.”

30 Copadis says that 7,000 pieces of baklava, 6,000 koulourakia butter cookies, and 1,500 kataifi will be made for the festival.

31 To make all these desserts requires hundreds of dozens of eggs and pounds of sugar, honey and syrup, according to Skaperdas.

32 Glendi offers a full Greek experience beyond food alone. At the Aegean Market you can find jewelry, ceramics, handcrafted items, clothing and other products imported directly from Greece.

33 The market was previously run by parishioners of the church who would buy products from businesses across the country as well as items made by Greek artists. They eventually started buying products from Taste and Art of Greece a few years ago after Elaine Setas, a parishioner of the church, started the business with her friend, Strati Vougiouka. This year, Taste and Art of Greece will solely run the market.

34 Setas and Vougiouka created Taste and Art of Greece five years ago to help friends in Greece sell their products in America. “Originally it was just a hobby for me … but it [was] so well-received that this is all I do full-time now,” Setas said.

35 Vougioukas lives in Greece and works with the artists and helps ship out the products, while Setas is on the front lines and handles sales and marketing.

36 With Setas being in charge of the market this year, there will be a heavier focus on Grecian goods. “There will be a little bit of a different setup and a lot more things by artists in Greece,” she said. “There will still be some of the same things that they’ve come to expect but with a little bit extra because we’re solely focused on importing things that are made in Greece.”

37 Included in Setas’ booth will be Tina Alexopoulos, a representative of the clothing brand LuLaRoe. She will be selling LuLaRoe clothing, like leggings, T-shirts and other comfortable wear, according to Setas.

38 Setas says what separates Taste and Art of Greece from other shops is that they take the time to tell the story behind the product and include a card that explains the meaning of the product and tells about the artist who made it.

39 A ceramic pomegranate from the Aegean Market will make the perfect housewarming gift, as pomegranates symbolize luck and prosperity in the home. Setas says they are also popular Christmas gifts in Greece, as it’s tradition to smash a pomegranate at midnight on New Year’s in front of your door. The more seeds that scatter, the more luck you will have.

40 Ceramic boats will likely be found at the market too and also make great Christmas gifts and represent “charting a new path for the new year and sailing into a new life,” Setas said.

41 Musician Chuck Koustas will be returning to Glendi this year, this time with Opa Entertainment.

42 Koustas was part of one of the first groups to perform at Glendi 42 years ago.

43 They will be performing both Friday and Saturday night from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday night will feature the traditional instrument the bouzouki, and Saturday night’s performance will include the clarinet.

44 Koustas will be playing both traditional and modern Greek music, like music of traditional Greek dances such as syrtos and nisiotika, as well as themes from Greek movies such as the 1960 film Never on Sunday.