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Rachel Nilles

Cultural Enrichment Paper

OGL 350

October 8, 2021

On October 2nd, I went to a local Greek Festival at the Saint George Greek Orthodox

Church in Knoxville, TN. This year was their 42nd anniversary. This is a huge event that goes for

a weekend every October. They have hundreds of visitors every day. I went once before and am

so glad I was able to attend again this year. They had a huge turnout and, thankfully, it is an

outdoor event. They sell all kinds of amazing Greek food and pastries. I spent probably around

$100 just on food to try, and everything was absolute perfection. There was dancing and

wonderful music playing. Everyone had smiles on their faces walking around. Even if they were

eating or drinking or socializing.

There were many families there enjoying their time together. I brought my sister and two

friends with me to enjoy the experience. We got lamb gyros and various bakery items. The items

included, baklava, koulourakia, kourambiedes, and tsourki. We also enjoyed a baklava

cheesecake. Everything we ate was incredibly delicious and wish we still had more to enjoy. We

were able to tour their beautiful church, however there was a service going on, so we did not

want to interrupt. We saw all the beautiful artwork and stained glass. “Following a devastating

fire that severely damaged the beautiful iconography and mosaics in our Church Sanctuary

several years ago, our Church completed its renovation in June 2019,” (St. George Greek

Orthodox Church, 2021).

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The first important thing I learned at Greek fest was how dedicated they are to their

church and community. It was so beautiful to witness this all-in person and why they do what

they do. Everyone was working this event; they even had their children working the drink

station. I knew if I was that age, I would have loved that job, giving everyone their water and

cokes and being a cashier. During the church tour, they talked about Greek baptisms and how

important they are in their culture. Greek children are typically baptized at younger ages, around

one to 3 years old, (St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 2021). Godparents, chosen by the

parents, are a big deal during this, they purchase all the items necessary for the ceremony. After

the baptism there is a big celebration. Everyone gathers to dance and eat food and drink wine.

Always big on celebrations and family oriented.

During this visit I also learned that they celebrate Name days, which are kind of like a

birthday, but with names, and are more commonly celebrated. Name days are celebrated during

certain days through the Greek Orthodox Church. The names celebrated are ones of a saint or

martyr, (St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 2021). On these days, if you were named after a

saint or martyr, you would celebrate on that day. Celebrating with your close friends and family.

Most Greek children are named after their grandparents, so this is where the tradition starts.

When we attended Greek Fest, we went later at night, so we did not get to order any

coffee, but I wish we did. Greek coffee is incredibly delicious. I loved how late Greek Fest went,

they stayed open until 10pm, both Friday and Saturday. They had a party all weekend long.

While we ate our dinner, we got to watch the Greek dance team perform. It put smiles on our

faces watching their cultural dances. Then they would perform some modern dances as well.

After a few dances, they invited attendees up onto the stage to learn the dances. Many children
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would join them and have an absolute blast. If given the chance, I absolutely recommend

attending a Greek festival.

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Works Cited

St. George Greek Orthodox Church: Knoxville, TN. St. George Greek Orthodox Church | St.

George Greek Orthodox Church. (2021, October 4). Retrieved October 5, 2021, from

https://www.saintgeorgeknoxville.com/.