The Houston Greek Fest 2018

by Brittany Hollie

I’m just getting back in the house from attending the Houston Greek Fest and I had an absolutely fabulous time! I CHOWED DOWN, hunty! LOL It’s been years since I’ve visited the Houston Greek Fest and the food and experience was just as good as I remembered. Let me walk you guys through my experience so you can know what to expect this weekend! 

The Houston Greek Fest 2018--Read about my experience of why I enjoy attending the Houston Greek Fest so much and why you should bring your family. -- lilsweetspiceadvice.com

 

What?

The Houston Greek Fest

When?

This weekend: May 17-20

Friday & Saturday: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. 

Sunday: 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Where?

St. Basil the Great Greek Orthodox Church

1100 Eldridge Pkwy 

Houston, TX 77077

Parking:

The parking at the church is $10. There is free parking on the street if you don’t mind parallel parking. (Not on Eldridge Pkwy)

Admission:

$3 or 3 canned goods

You can also purchase the YiaYia’s Early Bird Discount for $20 which includes 1 admission ticket, 1 dinner plate, and pick 1 one of these items: Gyro, Souvlaki, Greek salad, or an assorted pastry box. 

The Houston Greek Fest 2018--Read about my experience of why I enjoy attending the Houston Greek Fest so much and why you should bring your family. -- lilsweetspiceadvice.com

Ambiance

The festival is held at a Greek Orthodox church so all of the magnificent architecture sets a beautiful backdrop for the event. There are multiple tents set up throughout the festival that serve food, tents with tables to eat at, and tents for marketplace items. All of the volunteers and vendors are friendly and personable. They make you feel like you are right at home and a part of the family! If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask them.

Marketplace

There are plenty of items to purchase, from books to jewelry, plates & bowls, clothes & shoes, down to all of the critical components you need to recreate your favorite dishes at home! I purchased pastichio noodles and organic dried hyssop. I’m thinking about using the dried hyssop to infuse simple syrup for cocktails and lemonades. 

I was SO tempted to purchase some bowls and this gorgeous gold headband pictured below. They also sell flower headbands so you can wear your favorite Snapchat filter in real life!  

  • The Houston Greek Fest 2018--Read about my experience of why I enjoy attending the Houston Greek Fest so much and why you should bring your family. -- lilsweetspiceadvice.com

Food & Drinks

Okay, we’re getting down to the nitty gritty, the reason why you are here reading this! The food is incredible. Everything I tasted today was worthy of a second purchase. The pastichio is similar to lasagna but with tubular, hollow noodles that look like long macaroni, instead of flat lasagna noodles. It gets topped with a béchamel sauce that develops a lovely crust on top. The pastichio plate is also served with a Greek salad, a roll, spanakopita (fillo pasty filled with spinach and feta cheese), tiropita (fillo pastry usually filled with feta and ricotta), as well as keftedes which are meatballs that are so flavorful thanks to spices such as cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

The lamb plate is served with rice and everything else that’s on the pastichio plate except for the keftedes. The lamb is extremely tender and juicy. 

The Houston Greek Fest 2018--Read about my experience of why I enjoy attending the Houston Greek Fest so much and why you should bring your family. -- lilsweetspiceadvice.com

Now about the pork souvlaki! It’s the bomb and literally EVERYTHING! One of my absolute favorite Greek dishes. You can never go wrong with grilled meat. It is served on a stick and with a piece of pita bread. The pork is tender and juicy and is served piping hot so be careful when you dig in. 

For dessert I had what I consider to be a MUST at the festival: loukoumades which are crispy and fluffy on the inside pieces of fried dough heaven that are tossed in a heavenly honey syrup then topped with powdered sugar. They are like donuts but better! Yes, it is possible! LOL

I tried their signature cocktail, the OPA-Rita, made with Ouzo liquor. It’s $7 and it’s strong so you get your money’s worth. If you love licorice then you will love this drink! They had many Greek wines to pick from as well. I’ll be trying one of them when I go back tomorrow. 

The Houston Greek Fest 2018--Read about my experience of why I enjoy attending the Houston Greek Fest so much and why you should bring your family. -- lilsweetspiceadvice.com

I’m also planning on trying the Greek pizza, a gyro and maybe even the greek fries! So be on the lookout by following me on Instagram: @Merci_Britte. I have a lot up on my story right now so go check it out before it disappears. 

Entertainment

The Houston Greek Fest is an amazing experience for the entire family. With all of the shopping and eating you can do, your family will be entertained for hours! There is also live entertainment under the largest tent. There are so many groups of dancers to watch the entire weekend. There will even be a live Greek band as well as many contests to enter throughout the weekend. 

The Houston Greek Fest 2018--Read about my experience of why I enjoy attending the Houston Greek Fest so much and why you should bring your family. -- lilsweetspiceadvice.com

Go ahead and tell your family you have made plans for everyone to get together and have a good time at the Houston Greek Fest! My parents and I would go almost every year for about 5 years. This is my first time coming back since my mother passed away and the experience was exactly like I remembered from previous times. So glad I could create memories there with her and I hope you and your family will create memories there this weekend too. 

If you loved this post please be sure to share it with your friends and family by using the share buttons at the top, side, or bottom of this post. Let me know in the comments what day you plan on going this weekend and what foods you plan on eating! Have you ever been to a Greek festival? Be sure to tag me in your pictures! Keep up with me this weekend by following me on social media. Here are my links: Bloglovin’,FacebookInstagramTwitter and Snapchat to stay up-to-date. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel because more videos are coming!

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Brittany Hollie

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