I recently attended St. Katherine's Greek Festival. My mother had told me about it and I decided to check it out, because I'm not really a Greek buff, but I do love learning about different cultures. I also wasn’t really aware there was such a large Greek community in the Chandler area, so the whole idea of the festival was really interesting. I went on the 12th of November and learned a bit about Greek culture and I found I had a pretty large appreciation for the performers and the church goers who promoted and ran the festival. It is all opened, set up, and run by the Church’s members and some select fellow Greek establishments from across the metropolitan area. The atmosphere was really friendly, and everyone I spoke with was very nice as well. There was everything in the world Greek to explore; they had wine tasting for those of you over 21, as well as traditional music, dance, and food.
.My youngest sister who is under 12 got in for free, but I paid about $36 for me, my fifteen year old sister, and my boyfriend. I then found I had to spend even more money to buy “tickets”, which are used to buy food and drinks as well as the entertainment for the kids. There was a bounce house and some mazes and things, but I did spend a lot of money.
However, the food was great! I’d never had any “Greek food” before, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect or think of it, I just knew I was starving and I hoped the food to be flavorful and fulfilling. I got a Gyro, which is a sort of sandwich on pita bread with some tomatoes and a sauce called "tzatziki sauce". I received a chicken gyro, which was hot, well cooked, and defiantly flavorful, as I had hoped. It was actually completely worth the buy and it also filled me up so I wasn't hungry later, another big point in my deciding on whether or not it was satisfactory. My younger sister got one as well, and although she's a picky one, she enjoyed it too, and my other sister and my boyfriend both got traditional lamb gyros and also had no complaints as well.
Overall, I’d say my experience was pretty good, and I’d recommend anybody with an appreciation on culture to go to the festival. I do warn it is a bit costly if you’re going in a group, but affordable, and pretty much worth the spending you’ll do. The food was excellent, and I would have to say whoever caters the festival does a great job.
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