First time at the Greek Festival even though I am a Charlotte native and very aware of the festival every year. It was a great Saturday afternoon with friends. The weather was perfect in Charlotte so Im sure that's why traffic was very heavy, even though the festival draws big crowds every year.
We luckily found parking on the street right off of East Blvd on one of the side streets and only had to walk about 4 blocks up the festival. The real traffic was trying to figure out if you were in the right line to purchase a ticket or to enter the festival for advance ticket holders. Luckily we found the right line and even though it was fairly long it moved quickly due to the cash only admission.
Once we entered the festival we headed straight to the food because it was around lunch. The lines were long but organized and clearly labeled with the food options available in the corresponding line. There were about 5 or 6 lines for pitas and fries, a line or 2 for salad and pizza. Drinks were a separate line. So it seemed liked we were in a maze of lines for awhile but the lines honestly moved fairly quickly and the volunteers were extremely nice. Finding a table to sit at was another task but people already sitting were nice and allowed others to sit at there table if there were extra chairs.
The food was pretty good being that they are cooking for such large crowds in an outdoor kitchen. I ordered a chicken pita and fries. The tzatziki sauce was the best I've ever had! Which made my pita taste even better, the bread was just a little dry and crumbly to me. The potatoes were good as well!. The baklava sundae was the only item I really was waiting for and it did not disappoint! It was so good and the portion was big enough to share with someone else.
While eating baklava sundaes we walked around to look at all the exhibits and vendors. A lot of great jewelry and homemade products. The children dance performances were really good and it was a lot of crafts available for children and adults to do. We did not get a chance to do the church tour and lecture, the next time was a little longer than we wanted to wait but I think its a must do.
The Greek Festival is definitely a Charlotte Fall must-do event, at least once!