After Father George Wilson completes the blessing that officially opens the 50th Anniversary Greek Festival on Friday, May 23, thousands of New Orleanians will stream in to enjoy the food, music and culture of Greece. They’ll sample the Ouzo lemonade, feast on lamb and feta fries and grab a box of baklava to take home after they dance the hours away.
For the hundreds of Holy Trinity parishioners who just spent months baking pastries or preparing meat to be grilled, the festival is the ultimate opportunity to share the heritage of their ancestors. It’s that love of all things Greek that has driven the festival’s success during the last five decades.
The idea for a Greek Festival in New Orleans came from Holy Trinity Cathedral president Dennis A. Georges who had seen its success in other cities. Georges, father of John Georges who was then just a teen, recruited his fellow parishioners to help make his dream a reality. Among those stepping up were George Zissis who suggested the Memorial weekend date, Johnny Venturatos who agreed to handle the money, as well as George Pappas, Charlie Malachias, Spiros Bouzon and many others. These families and their descendants still make the festival happen.
The Malachias family is represented by Helen, who has co-chaired the pastry operation for decades, and her son Ilya, a personal chef in Athens who flies in each year to produce sought-after Hellenic delicacies. Sandy Bouzon is another pastry co-chair. She attended – but missed working the first festival – because she had recently given birth. Her son Nick now operates the beer booth. Ginny Zissis was festival chair for many years along with co-chair Gail Psilos and now assists with pastries and archives.
In this generation, the Venturatos family is represented by Stephanie Venturatos, an expert on Greek wines, who can be found in the festival office. Stephanie’s cousin Billie Venturatos Andersson put together the successful Greek Grocery along with her husband and other family members. It’s now run by Kathy Conklin. Billie Andersson also opened and runs the Cathedral Montessori School which is adjacent to the church.
Though Petro Christakis might be on the festival’s executive committee, the real star in his family is mom Lukia who commands the festival’s kitchen. Other executive committee members include Vicki Catsulis who also created the awesome Baklava Sundae and designed all the festival graphics. Joining her on the committee are Alexandra Hirra Megilligan, Dennis Papadopoulos, Connie Kringas, and Christina Kogos.
A stalwart at the pastry workshops, Eleftheria Demarinis has been active for dozens of years. Her late husband Petros was also a festival co-chair. Her daughter Vivi, a fitness expert at Ochsner, taught the Hellenic Dancers.
Among the other families with multi-generational ties are the Tsatsoulises. Katerina Tsatsoulis Sutton chairs the booth featuring a highly collectable print by James Michalopoulos as well as other Greek Festival merchandise. Over the years her parents Angeliki and the late John Tsatsoulis- prepped hundreds of pans of Moussaka and Pastitio in the festival’s kitchen.
Other families who have played an important role throughout the years include brothers-in-law Pete Patselikos and Pete Michaelakis who with his son-in-law Dimitri Vratakis cook the ever-popular lamb. Sophia Pappas bakes the entire supply of raspberry rounds following the tradition started by her mother and aunt. Cornelia Konitsiotis oversees pastries-to-go while her husband John perennially served soft drinks. Evangelia Bilalis is responsible for preparing one of the recent additions to the festival’s menu – the popular Meze (appetizer) plate. Many other individuals and families also stepped up when needed.
A highlight of this year’s festival is the availability of copies of historic Orthodox icons from countries around the world including Ethiopia, Egypt, Poland, the Ukraine, Mount Sinai and Greece. Holy Trinity Cathedral is the oldest Orthodox congregation in the Americas and has historical documents, liturgical materials, textiles, and altar objects dating back to the mid 1800’s. A small display of historical documents will be available for viewing in the church’s foyer during the festival. For the last two decades Maggie Magg has overseen the festival’s museum store located within the Greek Grocery with assistance from Connie and Alex Tiliakos and Georgia Zervoudis.
The 50th Annual Greek Festival runs May 23 – 25 at the Hellenic Cultural Center, 1200 Allen Toussaint Blvd. Tickets begin at $10 and are available online or at the door. Call 504 282-0259 for more information.
