NEW PORT RICHEY - A popular movie is credited with changing the focus of this year's Greekfest at St. George Greek Orthodox Church on Little Road just north of Embassy Boulevard.
"I think it all started with My Big Fat Greek Wedding," said Dave Juhre, chairman of this year's three-day event, which runs today through Sunday. In past years, "People have always associated (Greekfest) with carnival rides. This year we have eliminated all the rides. We wanted to create an environment that is based on bringing the whole family together."
Sort of like the togetherness of the very, very extended Portokalos family in screenwriter Nia Vardalos' semiautobiographical screenplay.
"It's all going to be Greek-oriented," Juhre said. That includes demonstrations of Greek cooking, lots of Greek food for sale and almost continuous Greek dancing.
"We'll have puppet shows for the kids and some unique games, like hand-waxing, in which they can create a permanent mold of their hands for a display in their homes."
But all that is just a warmup for what comes next, Juhre said.
"The most popular thing is the Greek dancing," he said. "Each of the villages within Greece has its own particular dance. What they are going to do is go through each of the islands and demonstrate the different types of dancing in each of them. That's three or four demonstrations for each show."
"We'll have the Neolaia Dancers, which means "youth,' " says Georgia Rigas, who is in charge of the dancers.
The St. George Dance Troupe will give special performances at 6:30 p.m. today, Saturday and Sunday, and at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Islanders, a musical group led by singer Demetrios Kousthanas, will perform modern and traditional Greek songs at 7 p.m. today and Saturday, and there will be Greek folk dancing at 8 p.m. on the main stage all three days.
If the dancing is the soul of the festival, its heart is the food.
The Taverna outdoors will serve gyros, a lamb/beef mix topped with tsaziki sauce, tomatoes and onions on pita bread, for $5, tyropita (cheese pie) for $3, spanakopita (spinach pie) with small souvlakia and bread for $6, plus the drinks Ouzo, Metaxa brandy, red or white wine by the glass or bottle, beer and soft drinks.
For kids, there will be hot dogs for $1.75.
Inside, the Greek cooks will serve Athenian chicken, baked lamb shank or pastitsio (Greek lasagna) for $7 a plate, with all the trimmings; a spanakopita plate for $6; or a sample plate with a little bit of everything for $8.
For dessert, there's loukoumades (hot deep fried batter puffs topped with cinnamon and honey) for $4.
Pastries such as baklava, diples, galataboureko (custard-filled buttered filo with syrup), koulourakia (cookies), kourabiethes (butter cookies) and other goodies will be for sale.
Lessons in making tyropita (cheese pie) will be at 3 and 7 p.m. today and making baklava (walnut torte made with filo) at 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday.
Hours are noon to 10 p.m. all three days. Admission is $1.
