|
|
|
Written by Kurt Brighton
|
|
Friday, 21 September 2007 |
|
|
|
|
 Putting on any kind of festival in Fort Collins can be nerve-wracking, given the heavy outdoor event schedule the city has every summer.
But when you’ve prepared several dozen pounds of food for your first festival with no idea how many people might actually show up—well, nobody has a refrigerator big enough for that many leftovers. Luckily, Dimitria Hurst, one of the organizers of the Northern Colorado Greek Festival, had nothing to worry about last year.
“Last year we were as nervous as cats, because we had all this food and we had no idea if anyone would show up,” she said. “But my husband was at the ticket booth, and we couldn’t sell the tickets fast enough.”
And festival-goers last year weren’t satisfied with tickets to redeem at the various food booths around Old Town Square—they wanted the shirts right off the festival volunteers’ backs.
“Our volunteers were wearing matching Greek Festival T-shirts,” Hurst said. “We had no idea how many people would want to buy one, so this year we ordered some extras.”
 The festival is fearlessly going all-out this year, with more than a dozen traditional Greek delicacies available—and that’s just the desserts. Crammed with cinnamon, nuts, honey, and more vowels than you can shake a stick at, the desserts alone are worth a trip downtown this weekend. Add to that lamb sandwiches, souvlaki, tiropita, spanakopita, Greek salad and gyros—the genuine article, not the kind you buy at the mall—and you can kiss that Atkins Diet good-bye.
But not too worry—there will also be plenty of aerobic activity to help you burn off those calories. In addition to a band playing traditional Greek music, the festival will also feature a DJ. If that’s not enough to get you dancing, maybe the free Greek dance lessons will be.
“On the half-hour we’ll have free dance lessons, teaching people three basic traditional Greek dances,” said festival entertainment chairwoman Sophia Linn. “Trust me—if people learn these three dances they can get away with dancing in 90 percent of the dances at any Greek festival or party.”
And while the food could perhaps be thought of as the bait to get people in to the festival, the true reason for the event is to celebrate Greek culture as a whole, not just the delectable gastronomic contributions they’ve made over the millennia.
There will be Greek dance groups from Denver and Cheyenne on hand, and a merchandise booth will have handicrafts, clothing, ceramics, an jewelry. Also, a cultural booth will have books, travel and language brochures, and participatory theatre.
“There will be children’s theater, featuring plays about Greek mythology, and the public will be invited to come up and participate,” Linn said. “And we’ll also have arts and crafts for kids to do, and face-painting as well.”
In addition to getting to try some excellent traditional, homemade Greek food, the festival is an opportunity to celebrate a unique and ancient culture.
“This is our chance to do some kind of philanthropy and outreach, as well as celebrating Greek culture,” said Linn.
“It’s a great way to be Greek for a day,” she added.
———
TO GO
• The Second Annual Northern Colorado Greek Festival
• 5-9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21
• 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22
• Old Town Square, Fort Collins
• There is also a raffle for a New Belgium cruiser bicycle, and a portion of the festival’s profits will be donated to Hope Lives, and the Women’s Resource Center. | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
