By TR Robertson
The month of September for many people has become one of anticipation for the opening of the annual Cardiff Greek Festival held on the grounds of the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church. This annual event is attended by hundreds and hundreds of people who take part in everything Greek, enjoying great food, drink, music and shopping. Some just attend to grab lunch or dinner or an array of sweet treats. Others spend all day listening to the music and taking part in traditional dancing. Whatever the reason, attending this festival has become a must do for lots of folks.
Father Michael opened the festival with a prayer, in front of the church, followed by a presentation of the National Anthem and the National Anthem of Greece. This was followed with a presentation of certificates of recognition, presented to Father Michael and all of the organizers of this event, from California State Senator Catherine Blakespear and 77th Assembly Member Tasha Boerner. With this a red ribbon was cut and the 45th Cardiff Greek Festival was underway.
The 2-day event features a number of vendors selling their wares, a wide selection of foods to purchase, a Kids Zone, Wine Tasting, a Greek Restaurant, a wide variety of Pastries to purchase and a Taverna with the Olympian Band playing and folk-dance performances as well as a dance floor for any one to join the dancing. Along with this every couple of hours’ tours of the church and the beautiful Byzantine Art is provided free. A nominal fee is charged for entrance to the Festival, but if you have a copy of the Festival promo you enter for free. Parking is also free in the large lot by the church and Mira Costa College. The Major Sponsors for this years Greek Festival includes Broadmoor Capital, Del Mar Beach Hotel, Erys Phillips, Poseidon Restaurant, and Gerry & Jeannie Ranglas.
There is not an abundance of vendors, but those in attendance have been coming to the Festival for years. Several jewelry shops are back including Australian Swarovski Jewelry, Italian Lampwork Murano Glass, Marble King Olive Oil, Luv JJ Jewelry, Holy Branch of Olive woodworking, lots of Greek clothing and items like the “Evil Eye”, and the Agora Marketplace for almost everything you would need to prepare a Greek meal. The gentleman running Marble King was ready to tell you everything you needed to know about Olive Oil and why this olive oil was the best around. Free samples were also offered. Setting up as we arrived was members of Greecious, a Greek winery featuring all Greek wines for the wine tasting. Reasonable prices began with 7 tastes for $25. The truck bringing their wine from the Long Beach shipyard arrived 5 minutes before the festival opened.
Those returning to the Greek Festival found that the food and performance set-up was switched a bit this year. You basically had to stand in lines for whatever particular Greek food you wanted. For the Greek Restaurant, it was still a cafeteria set-up where you were charged for whatever food you selected. There was also a separate line for the delicious Spanakopita or Tiropita – Phyllo with either Spinach & Feta or Cheese. We always start off with these. For the meal you had a number of choices like Greek Style Rice, Fasolakia (Greek style Green Beans), Dolmathes (Stuffed Grape Leaves), Pastitsio (Basically Greek Lasagna) and of course Greek Salad. There is also Souvlaki (kababs), Loukaniko (Greek Sausage) and Feta Fries. We always share a big Gyro Sandwich (Lamb, Beef or Chicken choices). There was also Lamb Shank or Lemon Chicken to choose from as well. For drinks you had water, soda, Oggi’s Craft beer, Mythos Greek Beer, Greek Wine or shots of Ouzo to choose from. There were lots of Greek pastries to select. My favorites the Almond cookies, the Ergolavos (a macaroon with apricot), the Kourambiethes (butter cookies covered in powdered sugar) and my wife loves the Baklava and tried the Galaktoboureko (Phyllo pastry with custard filling covered with honey) this year. Many people start the morning off with the Loukoumades, Greek donuts with drizzles of honey, cinnamon and nuts, along with a very strong Greek coffee. You will not go hungry at the Greek Festival.
You are given a very nice pamphlet as you enter that has an interesting history of the beginning of the Greek Orthodox Church in this area in 1979. It also contains a map of the festival, a schedule of performances and a detailed description of all of the Greek foods offered. One upcoming event at the church is the return of the Merry & Bright Holidays in Harmony presenting the Masters of Harmony, 9-time international chorus champions from Los Angeles, along with Pacific Coast Harmony from La Jolla in concert on Saturday, December 6th. Tickets on sale at www.stconstantinehelen.ludas.com or call 760-942-0920.
If you missed this year, mark your calendars for September of 2026 and mark it Cardiff Greek Festival – Do Not Miss. You will have a great time and take part in a great cultural experience.
