Mahrajan returns to Our Lady of the Cedars Church
With food, music, dancing, games and even a petting zoo, Our Lady of the Cedars Church’s Mahrajan food festival is just what the Arabic phrase translates to: a wicked good time. This year the festival will be held Friday, Aug. 18, through Sunday, Aug. 20, at the church in Manchester.
“We have been having this festival for 50-plus years,” said the church’s pastor, Tom Steinmetz. “It centers really around Middle Eastern, in particular Lebanese, food and culture, so the food, the music [and] the dancing.”
While the church started as a mission church in the 1950s, eventually becoming a full-sized parish in 1963, its origin dates back to the 1930s when people from Lebanon immigrated to New Hampshire, wanting to establish a church that aligned with their Melkite Catholic faith. The church has grown considerably since then, having outgrown its previous location and moved to its current one about 17 years ago.
“The makeup of the church has [also] changed,” said Steinmetz. “There’s a real mixture now of people … predominantly people not of Middle Eastern origin but who love the faith and the traditions. We’ve continued this tradition of making this food. We get a big turnout over [the] three days.”
Marlou Lazos, who has been running this event for 15 years along with her cousin, estimates that 3,000 people come over the course of the weekend.
“We don’t actually count exactly how many people come through but we know what we sell and it’s been about 2,000 of just the kabobs,” she said.
The chicken and the lamb kabob dinners are served with rice pilaf, lubyeh, which are green beans in tomato sauce, and bread.
“Our dinner entrees are kind of what you would expect for a Middle Eastern festival,” Lazos said. “The recipes that we use at mahrajan are handed down to us from members of the church.”
In addition to the kabobs, which is one of the most popular meals at the festival, other traditional Middle Eastern meals include shawarma, thinly sliced seasoned meat served on a wrap with vegetables; mujaddara, which consists of rice and lentils cooked down with caramelized onions; and kibbee.
“Kibbee is pretty much the national dish of Lebanon,” Lazos said via email. “It is a meatloaf made of beef burger and lamb with cracked wheat, onions and pine nuts.”
Dessert options include baklawa, a version of baklava, filled with hazelnuts and chocolate or walnuts. Orders can be placed online or in person at the event.
“Our church is growing. Last year we sold out of everything, so we’ve spent time making more food this year and I’m just so pleased that we have people that have been with the church for years and years now,” Lazos said. “Now we have new crowds coming in … and they’re joining in the fun too. … I’m just grateful for all the help that we have.”
Mahrajan: Middle Eastern food festival
When: Friday, Aug. 18, 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 19, noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday, Aug. 20, noon to 5 p.m.
Where: Our Lady of the Cedars Church, 140 Mitchell St., Manchester
Cost: Free to attend. Prices for meals can be found online or at the event.
Featured photo: Photo by Matthew Lomanno.
