Bay Ridge’s Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church marked the end of summer with the 12th Annual Greek Cultural Festival, held from Friday, September 18 through Sunday, September 20.
“My greatest joy is to see people coming together,” lauded Father Gerasimos Makris of Holy Cross, “and people were not just celebrating together, but also working really hard to make this a reality.”
The annual three-day festival – a favorite amongst many Greek and non-Greek Ridge families – is certainly a joint effort, said Makris.
“It’s a really big project with so many components so to see my community working together to make it happen really brings me joy,” he said.
The festival – beginning at 2 p.m. Friday and ending at 7 p.m. Sunday – took place on Ridge Boulevard between 84th and 86th Streets. It featured an outdoor Greek taverna, Greek dancing to Yianna Papastefanou and Orchestra and Fantasia Music, as well as Greek food and pastries, a flea market, vendors, rides, games and more.
“My personal highlight was the children that came to dance both Friday and Saturday in traditional Greek costumes,” Makris said, calling the performance a symbol of the Greek culture being passed down from generation to generation. “They did a great job.”
As for the turnout, Makris said it was packed.
“There were certainly a lot of people,” he said.
On the Avenue: Kiwanis Club fetes ‘Finest’ with award named for late chief 
On the Avenue: Celebs, activists honored at annual Maimonides gala