ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — This weekend, a local tradition continues. Friday was the kickoff of the St. Louis County Greek Festival, which serves as a huge fundraiser for the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church.
The event rolled out with live music for a crowd of people to let the good times roll. There was a little dancing, clapping and simply enjoying one another.
"The camaraderie, the people and just the love and support,” said Billie Swatek of Wildwood.
The St. Louis County Greek Festival is now 85 years strong.
"It's beautiful. It's great. We love the Greek Festival,” said Juliana Jorgii of Crestwood.
She brought her co-workers with her for what’s becoming a yearly tradition.
"If we didn't show up, we'd hear about it at work,” David Brown said with a joking laugh.
While the entertainment is a big draw, you can’t forget the delectable Greek dishes.
"Gyro,” Dan Swatek said.
"The Greek salad was my favorite,” Billie Swatek added.
"The honey walnut cake is by far the best,” Brown chimed in.
"I always go for the lamb shank. The lamb shank is amazing. It falls right off the bone,” said organizer Greg Simos.
With so many options, Simos had to keep counting down. "We have our traditional pastitsio. We have a Greek spinach pie. We have our spanokopita. People love that as well…. Almost everything we do is homemade, hand made here by our parishioners here… We have our desserts as well, which is probably the highlight of everything."
There's a purpose behind the excitement.
"This makes up a good majority of our budget just so we can keep the doors open of the church and take care of our ministries," Simos added.
Some 15,000 people are expected to show up through Monday.
For Jorgii, it's about more than a day to gather.
"We keep the culture. You know what I mean? Just we give to the generation to generations, not forget where they come from and everything," she said.
And what's more -- they can share that culture and pride with the masses.
"We've had great crowds. The food is great,” Simos said.
The Greek Festival will run from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday.
You'll also need to bring a debit or credit card because cash is not accepted.