Aurora festival offers a taste of Greece: ‘I love that this is authentic’

Nothing beats having food that tastes authentic as well as homemade, and Yorkville resident Sharon White found that at a Greek Orthodox church in Aurora over the weekend.

“We have been here several times and we usually come every day on the weekend when they are open,” White said as she and a group of friends enjoyed lunch last Friday during Aurora Greek Fest at St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church at 1855 E. Fifth Ave. in Aurora.

The event, which ran from Friday to Sunday, offered food, entertainment and more.

“We have plans for tomorrow and Sunday is on our schedule as well,” White said on Friday. “This is as good or better than any Greek restaurant, and I challenge anybody to get just one dessert.”

The semi-annual event – held in the spring and the fall – serves as a major fundraiser for the church as well as a way to introduce members of the community to the facility, organizers said.

More than 120 volunteers work each day the fest is being held. One of them last Friday was Phil Nassos of Naperville, who was overseeing the grill team working outside at the church.

“We’re going to do about 700 chickens this weekend and about 2,000 souvlaki,” he said as he looked at skewers of souvlaki on the grill last Friday. “We started marinating them days ago.”

Another volunteer, Christina Hasapis of Yorkville, said she has worked the festival for over 20 years and that the most popular bakery item, year in and year out, is probably the baklava.

“It’s the most popular but also the most complicated to make,” she said. “People appreciate that things here are homemade. We see a lot of the same people both spring and the fall. When they leave in the spring, they tell us ‘We’ll see you in a few months’ and sure enough they show up.”

Officials said over the three days, more than 3,500 were expected to attend, with more than 80% coming from the local community.

Co-chair Tracey Collins of Naperville said the event has more than a 25-year history and that classics like Greek chicken, souvlaki, moussaka and gyros were of course on the menu over the weekend, as well as some new items including a veggie dinner and some new dessert options.

“We changed the marinade on the chicken and made it a little more lemony this time, but we are offering the same great food,” she said during the fest.

A new non-profit, Naperville Responds For Veterans, was selected to receive some of the proceeds from the event, Collins said.

“That’s something that we started this year – donating a portion of the proceeds to a local organization. In May, we gave to the VFW in Naperville and the American Legion in Aurora,” she said.

Another change this fall was the addition of a few vendors including those selling jewelry and honey and someone offering face painting.

Ineke Pelella of Naperville said last Friday was her fourth time coming to the Greek festival in Aurora.

“The gyros are my favorite. They are wonderful,” she said. “I tend to go for the same things. I love that this is authentic and I love to come here because I know things are made with love.”

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.