OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio — Everything is Greek to me.
And no one wanted it any other way at the Olmsted Falls Greek Festival last week.
The Nafpaktian Cultural Foundation, located on Brookside Drive, hosted the event for the third year. George Mastrokostas, president of the foundation, said it was one of its main events.
“This event gives us the opportunity to raise funds to help children of Greek descent pay for their high school and university expenses. We are grateful to all our volunteers and those who come,” he said.
According to its website, the foundation originated in Sterea Ellas, a part of central Greece. As more Nauppaktians settled in the Cleveland area, they saw the need to bring them together and help preserve their religion and traditions, as well as support philanthropic efforts.
It started with 20 members.
“We currently have about 150 members in the Cleveland area,” George said. “What you see here is just volunteer work. »
And the work, well, a lot of things started in the kitchen. George offered an estimate of the amount of food prepared by the volunteers. He said they made about 1,000 gyros, about 1,000 chicken and pork souvlaki, 300-400 pastitsio (Greek lasagna) and 700 baklava, with so many other varieties of meats and desserts available that day- there.
Mary Crowl enjoyed her first visit to the festival. She wanted to come last year but, as they say, life stands in her way. She is an avid 3-5 mile walker in her neighborhood. During her walks, she saw the signs announcing the Greek Festival.
Why did she come this year?
“It’s a beautiful summer day. I walked to the post office and made this stop,” she said. “What’s better than Greek food!”
The Olmsted Township resident bought a gyroscope and a to-go container with one of all the desserts available.
I saw her Sunday at the Vintage Marketplace at the Falls and asked her about the food.
“Oh, the gyros were great and the baklava amazing – the best I’ve ever had,” she said.
Mary said she had mini-tested some of the other desserts, but frozen them to enjoy later. She said she would come back next year.
Ellen and Bob Martin brought friends and family to the festival, some from as far away as Medina. Ellen said she heard about it when a representative from the foundation showed up at their door about a voting issue. She suggested that they should advertise the event more.
She and her friend Lee Jacobs are avid readers of the Sun Post-Herald and also attended the festival mentioned in this column.
Most of his group bought gyros, one of which had pastitsio – Greek lasagna. They savored every bite of the Greek delicacies, including the dessert.
What did Mary think of their first visit to the festival?
“It’s wonderful. It’s like Oktoberfest, but Greek. The food, music and socializing are great,” the Olmsted Falls resident said.
It was Bob’s and my first visit to Greek Fest as well. It will certainly not be the last.
We have a community that offers German, Irish and Greek culture, many churches to share our faith in, schools that educate our children well, and people who are very friendly to one another. It is truly a blessed community.
Citizen of the Year: Thursday (August 31) is the last day to nominate a candidate for Olmsted Falls Citizen of the Year.
The qualifications are simple: applicants must live in Olmsted Falls and have resided there for at least one year. They must have demonstrated outstanding work with any community group or organization. They must be volunteers and not receive compensation. Past winners are not eligible.
You must know someone who does the trick. If so, the city’s website, olmstedfalls.org, has a form to fill out. Then send it to City Hall c/o Olmsted Falls Parks and Recreation Board or drop it off.
There are so many Olmsted Falls residents who volunteer in scouts, garden clubs, churches, schools, non-profit groups, Kiwanis, law enforcement, and helping the city in various projects.
Consider one and nominate them for this honorable award – today.
The city will announce the new Citizen of the Year on Falls Day in East River Park.
Singing: Tickets go on sale Friday (September 1) for this year’s Witch’s Night Out, 5-8 p.m., Oct. 5 at Grand Pacific Junction.
The first 100 ticket holders will receive bags full of goodies.
Enjoy appetizers, drinks, and prizes as the stores offer specials during these hours. Those who dress up as a witch will receive a spooky surprise at participating stores.
Tickets are $10. They are available at The Artists’ Colony, Treasure House of the Falls, Posh Elements Boutique, and Ohio Wick House.
For more details, contact Patty at 440-235-0270 or Stephanie at 440-785-4040.
Raising Grandchildren: A local couple who are helping raise their grandchildren will speak about their experiences at the September 7 grandparents ministry meeting.
This St. Mary of the Falls ministry invites the community to attend the 10 a.m. meeting in the parish community hall.
Sue and Paul Olecki are the members who will speak. They shared great tips and ideas during the meetings and will tell more about their experiences during the hour-long meeting.
For more details, email jdumound@yahoo.com or call 440-281-0226.
Music: Enjoy relaxing music at the Grand Pacific Junction Wedding Gardens, 6-8 p.m., September 6. Refreshments and food will be available.
It is a pleasant moment to savor as a couple or with friends. Oh, and it’s free.
Christians in action: You still have time to order items from Chef Pampered to raise funds for our local Christians in Action. August 31 is the deadline to order.
Pampered Chef will donate 20 percent of sales totaling between $200 and $649. It will donate 30% of sales for orders totaling $650 or more. There’s more: for every $50 in guest sales, one Pampered Chef Pantry item will be donated to the pantry.
Go to pamperedchef.com/party/ciafundraiser0805 to shop and order.
The Daka team: Olmsted Falls Bulldog graduate Dakota “Dak” Hosta died in April of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is a progressive and fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly eliminates the body’s ability to walk, talk, swallow and breathe.
There is no remedy.
Dak’s widow, Danielle, started a Team Dak team as part of the September 10 Northern Ohio section of the ALS Association’s Walk to End ALS. The march is to Independence.
Dak was 32 when he lost his battle with ALS.
You can donate to this cause at https://tinyurl.com/3yv4bvxu. Funds raised help raise awareness for families, provide them with resources and services, and hopefully unravel the mystery of finding a cure.
ALS is diagnosed every 90 minutes in a person in the United States
The ALS North Section website is at www.als.org/northern-ohio.
Praise and Worship: Sanctuary Music, which includes members of a local family, will perform at 7 p.m. Sept. 17 at St. Julie Billiart in North Ridgeville.
Siblings Elizabeth, Joshua and Nathan Gonzalez are three local band members, along with Christina Dupre and Alex Kostrista.
As their motto says, Soli Deo Gloria – glory to God alone. They will feature songs that will lift your spirits and bring joy and hope to your heart.
The church is located at 5500 Lear Nagle Road in North Ridgeville. The evening is free and open to the public.
Information, please: To include news, information, honors or activities in Olmsted Falls and Olmsted Township, contact Joanne DuMound at jdumound@yahoo.com. She is also on Twitter, @JoanneDuMound. The online version of the column on cleveland.com/olmsted offers direct links to many news.
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