Local News

St. Nicolas Greek Festival

September 5, 2007

By Ashleigh Stricker

Many MBU students have never had an opportunity to travel abroad to Europe. St. Nicolas Greek Orthodox was kind enough to bring a bit of European culture right to St. Louis. Welcome, Greece.

From Sept. 1-3, St. Nicolas Greek Orthodox Church hosted the Greek Festival on Forest Park Boulevard. At the festival, crowds enjoyed the traditional food and culture of Greece.

With choices ranging from the famous gyro sandwich to the classic baklava, it was hard to choose what foods to try. Assorted boxes of pastries were offered if visitors could not make a decision. Guests could also buy their own bottle of Greek salad dressing before leaving for the day and take the taste of Greece home with them.

There was great entertainment with dinner. The festival featured musicians playing bouzoukis, a traditional Grecian instrument, accompanied by Greek folk dancing to entertain diners.

Inside the church there were tours that took groups for a look at the history of the St. Louis Greek Orthodox Church. With ancient inspired art and architecture all around, people were mesmerized by the paintings and stained glass. Carie Christensen, an art history major from St. Louis, said, “The church was an interesting style of architecture. I liked the faux mosaics the most. They were very realistic.” According to the church tour guide, much of the art was not installed until 15 years after the church was built and was mostly inspired by ancient Greece.

Make sure you check out this festival next September. Until next year, Opa!

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