Saturday, September 12, 2009

St. Sophia Celebration, or, Greek Fest in Bellingham








Again, it was an amazing day, and what better to do than to go to a festival? For a big chunk of my life, I spent most weekends at one festival or fair or another. The list is long--Bean and Bacon Days, Broiler Fest, Sawdust City Days, etc. It was at the point before I left the newspaper that I could tell the month/week not only by the calendar but by which festival/parade/fair I was at.

And I loved it. People were happy, it meant a great deal to the town and its people, and the food was good, sometimes even great. Great tasting, but not that great for you. Sometimes by the end of the week I was hungry only for a box of shredded wheat, or a head of cabbage, or anything that would soak up all the grease that I had consumed. I think that I only have to mention the Pork Rind Festival to hammer that point home.

This weekend was Greek Fest, a celebration hosted by St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church. The church, just down the road, has been in Bellingham for about 40 years, though this church building is only about 20 years old, as it replaced a church that had been destroyed by fire. Actually, this is just part of a pretty vibrant Orthodox community in Bellingham, as there are is a large Russian Orthodox community as well as the Greek community.

I have to admit that the food was a tad bit different than the fried cheese curds from Wisconsin. And there was no cute little steeple attached to the local Lutheran church. Here are a few photos of the event to go along with the memories of yet another festival.

No comments: