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| - Every September the ambrosial aromas of roasted lamb, spanakopita, and baklava waft through Dilworth, drawing Greeks and barbarians alike to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church like some irresistible siren song. So dig out those old Edith Hamilton books, pop in that Yanni "Live at the Acropolis" CD (don't act like you don't own it!) and get ready for the Hellenic awesomeness that is the Yiasou Greek Festival!
This festival may be more or less the same every year, but as the ancient Greeks used to say (in their equivalent to "honey badger don't give a sh*t"), "Hippocleides doesn't care". It's always a great day out. And how can you really get bored with something that only comes around once a year anyway? The food is delicious and reasonably priced. They have live Greek music and dance going pretty much non-stop. There are rides for the kids and cultural exhibits and documentaries for adults. In recent years they've even had Classics professors from UNCC and Davidson College giving mini lectures on the Battles of Marathon, Thermopylae, Athenian democracy, Doric/Corinthian/Ionian architecture, etc. And if the heat gets to be too much you can find refuge from Helios' rage in the cool, dimly lit but beautiful cathedral.
I do have a couple pieces of advice though .
1. The festival is wildly popular. As such, parking is a nightmare. If at all possible, utilize public transportation. The rather indecisively named East/West Blvd Station on LYNX Blue line is only about half a mile (or 10 minutes walk) away with sidewalks the whole way.
2. You will likely hear loads of people raving about the baklava sundaes. In my opinion, the addition of ice cream to baklava serves only to diminish the pleasures of both. It's just too sweet. Instead, order the baklava plain and enjoy it with an iced frappé and stave off the beetus for another year.
Yiamas!
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