11th Annual Greek Heritage festival

Jay Humphreys, Communications Director for the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau, announced to Historic City News the 11th Annual Greek Heritage festival.

The Greek influence on the Nation’s oldest city will be celebrated with music, food and fun at the 11th Annual Greek Festival to be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 10-12 at the Special Events Field in St. Augustine, Florida.

Hosted by the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, the festival will feature a delicious assortment of Greek foods, pastries, beverages and non-stop entertainment. This year’s edition of the festival will give visitors an opportunity to enter a virtual Greek village that will include all of the sights and sounds of Greece. The Agora, or market, will have various items imported from Greece including books, music and icons. Live entertainment will include musical performances by the Hellenic Band of Jupiter and traditional Greek dances by the Nisiotes Dance Troupe.

Many Greeks arrived in St. Augustine in 1777 after fleeing from the failed British indigo plantation at New Smyrna where they had been mistreated as indentured servants. They held their first religious service in St. Augustine at the Avero House, more commonly known as the St. Photios Shrine, on St. George Street.

The Ninth Annual Greek Festival takes place from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The Special Events Field is located on West Castillo Drive just to the east of U.S. 1 in downtown St. Augustine. Admission to the festival is $2. For more information, call 904.829.0504.

The Greek Festival is supported in part by a grant from the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council. For the latest on festivals and events in St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and The Beaches, call the Visitors and Convention Bureau at 1.800.653.2489.