If you look forward to the Atlanta Greek Festival every year, the good news is you can now enjoy two Greek Festivals every year. Of course there’s the huge Greek Festival that takes place in September in Decatur. But if you live in or close to Cobb County, you should definitely check out the Marietta Greek Festival which is located in East Cobb.
Truth be told, my expectations were low. I hadn’t heard about the Marietta Greek festival as very little advertising was done. And I just stumbled upon it driving around. From what I could see from the outside, there wasn’t much going on at the Marietta Greek Festival. But, I thought that it was a nice day to be outside walking around so, I would check it out.
Once inside, I couldn’t help getting some of their yummy Greek morsels. It was a lot of food and very reasonably priced. The church tour was interesting – not boring at all as I suspected it might be. I loved the dancers and if nothing else was astounded by the Greek Colesseum they have on the grounds.
The Food
The food was pretty tasty at the Marietta Greek Festival last year. I sampled the chicken and pork kabobs. The chicken was white meat and marinated in olive oil and other spices which I enjoyed pretty well. But the kabobs were way better, they had much more flavor and were a bigger hit than the lamb at the festival. All the dishes come with rice and spanakopita (pastry stuffed with cheese and spinach).
Save room for dessert as there are so many goodies at the Marietta Greek Festival to sample. I tried to Baklava, which was excellent, but there are lots of other tasty treats like special cookies and pastries to enjoy as well. They have greek wine, but it was not pleasing in any way. I would skip that and just enjoy a soft drink.
The Entertainment
I was amazed at the entertainment. I really wasn’t expecting much, but it was actually quite enjoyable. In addition to Greek bands which perform, there are also dancers. They vary in age from quite young at the kindergarten level to young adults. Don’t worry about seating as there is actually a Greek colosseum in the ground of the church that allows for great views of the dancers. This in itself is pretty spectacular to see.
Church Tours
The Church Tours of the Orthodox church take place during all three days of the festival. I took the tour last year and was really glad I did (and not only because it got me out of the heat for a while). A guided instructor takes small groups of no more than about 20 people through the church and gives them a brief history and some information about the Greek Orthodox Church.
It is great to get inside and to see their beautiful, rich designs and learn about their history at the same time. It was intriguing and at only 20 – 30 minutes short enough to prevent me from getting bored as I tend to do quite easily with these things.
Cooking Demonstrations
Located in the Agora Marketplace West lobby
Various times Friday, Saturday and Sunday – Times posted in the lobby.
Admission is $3.00.
May 13, 3:00 PM – 11:00 PM
May 14, 10:00 AM – 11:00 PM
May 15, 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Holy Transfiguration
Greek Orthodox Church
3431 Trickum Road
Marietta, Georgia 30066
770.924.8080
AT WORK WARNING: OBNOXIOUS LOUD MUSIC WILL PLAY WHEN YOU CLICK THE LINK BELOW
Website
Hey thanks for the tips, I want to go this afternoon but didn’t know if the food was reasonable… Good solid info…
PS By the way there is a coupon at the website for free admission for 2 (take their survey to see where you heard about the festival). And since kids under 12 are free, we are all getting in for free today!