Glendi offers three days of Greek eats
By Jack Walsh
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Glendi, the three-day food festival celebrating Greek culture with all kinds of authentic homemade items, is scheduled to return from Friday, Sept. 16, through Sunday, Sept. 18, at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Manchester. The festival has been running since 1980 and — aside from 2020 — has occurred in its traditional format every year since.
“We can call this our 43rd annual Glendi, because even during Covid we found a way to pivot and have what we called ‘A Taste of Glendi’ drive-thru,” said George Skaperdas, president of St. George Church’s board of directors and Glendi co-chairman.
Over the course of each of the three days, Skaperdas expects the church to serve roughly 10,000 meals, including 2,300 pounds of lamb shanks, 1,500 pounds of barbecued lamb and 3,000 meatballs.
“The numbers are astonishing,” he said.
Skaperdas gives gratitude to members of the church’s Ladies Society, as well as parishioners and close friends, all of whom have been cooking items for the event since way back in June.
“The planning for each festival begins at the end of February and the beginning of March,” Skaperdas said. “The cooking starts at the beginning of June for a lot of the baked goods and desserts.”
Translated into English, “Glendi” means “celebration,” or “good times.” Prior to 1980 the festival was originally known as the Harvest Bazaar, a small three-day fundraising event for the church and community center. Soon renamed Glendi, the celebration has gained a lot of traction and continues to help spread Greek culture throughout the southern New Hampshire community.
“It’s a chance for us to share our culture and our heritage with people who may not be familiar with our Greek traditions and ways of life,” Skaperdas said. “We’re excited to share our food, and our joy for life. We plan to make sure that everybody feels welcomed.”
The kitchen begins preparation at 5:30 a.m. on each of the three days, ready and in position for the hundreds of people who often show up right as the event begins. There will be up to 150 or so volunteers per day, Skaperdas said.
In addition to the many Greek items such as spanakopita, a famous spinach pie pastry; and pastichio, a baked pasta dish consisting of ground meat and layers of macaroni in a creamy cheese sauce, there will also be different meats. Dinners include barbecue lamb, baked lamb shanks, marinated and baked chicken, Greek meatballs and stuffed peppers — all of the meals come with rice pilaf, a salad and a roll, or you can order each meat separately a la carte. A variety of Greek pastries and cookies will also be available, as well as booths full of imported Greek jewelry, Greek coffee, beer, wine, and even Greek dancing.
Skaperdas and the church understands that there is still some hesitation among potential attendees regarding Covid.
“We have hand-washing stations and plenty of sanitizer around for everybody, and we’re just making sure to try to do the right thing,” he said.
As with last year’s comeback event, Skaperdas said he has hopes for the church to deliver on bringing back the community atmosphere so many returning attendees over the years have come to expect.
“This isn’t just a Manchester thing. This becomes a huge win for southern New Hampshire,” he said. “There was pent up demand last year, and I can only hope that there’s going to be more pent up demand for this year.”
Glendi
When: Friday, Sept. 16, and Saturday, Sept. 17, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (with food services ending at 9 p.m.), and Sunday Sept. 18, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 650 Hanover St., Manchester
Cost: Free admission: foods are priced per item
Visit: stgeorgenh.org/activities/glendi, or find them on Facebook @glendinh
Free parking is available at Derryfield Park (Bridge Street) and at the McDonough Elementary School (550 Lowell St.), with shuttle services to the church that will be available throughout the day on Friday and Saturday.
Featured photo: Glendi. Courtesy photos.
