On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Oct. 20, 21, and 22, the fall edition of Newport News Greek Festival happened and was very fun. It was at the Hellenic Center near the Greek Orthodox church off of J. Clyde Morris Boulevard. On Saturday, the hours were from 11 am to 9 pm. There was also online ordering for food at the event. So many people came to the Greek Festival from all over the Newport News area that it could get a little tricky to find an open parking spot. On Saturday at 3pm, there was a live exhibit of Traditional Greek Costumes. The Hellenic Youth Dancers also performed throughout the day during all three days of the festival. 

There were two lines for food, and one line for desserts. There was a line for drinks in a corner. They had all of the classic Greek food one would expect: Moussaka, Dolmades, Gyros, etc. The rice pilaf was amazing, and the Greek Festival has some of the best green beans anyone can get out somewhere. As for the desserts, they had many of the well-known Greek desserts, such as baklava and ergolavi, an almond cookie in the shape of a crescent. By the time I went on Saturday, most of the desserts were gone, leaving just the ergolavi and a few other desserts. I missed my chance of getting some baklava. Hopefully, I manage to get some soon.

Shopping is a must at the Greek Festival, and there were several vendors at the festival. It was mostly jewelry, but there was one vendor that sold olive oil only, one that sold clothes, and one that in addition to the jewelry, sold honey. For myself, I found a really beautiful bracelet and a nice dress. I heard that the garlic olive oil from the olive oil vendor was the most popular one they sold due to how versatile it was. At the fall edition of the Greek Festival, there are usually less vendors than at the big one in the spring, but all of the vendors had wonderful products to sell. 

The church nearby, Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox church, did allow for people to come in, take pictures, and ask some questions about the church and Greek Orthodox Christianity. I went there back in 2019, and it is still a beautiful church with a beautiful mosaic and lovely stained glass windows. It was so nice to see it again and to go to the Greek Festival, as I haven’t been to one since the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, it was a great experience and is something that comes highly recommended for everyone in the Newport News community to go and experience for themselves.