Each year, over Labor Day weekend, food is king at the Sacramento Greek Festival at the Sacramento Convention Center, located at 1400 J Street in Sacramento. This year's festival runs September 3 through 5, with the hours of 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free on Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., otherwise it's $5 for adults, $4 for seniors (55 and over), and children under 12 are free.

The Sacramento Greek Festival features authentic Greek cuisine and pastries, including lamb, dolmathes, pastitsio, spanakopita, mousaka, gyros, kalamari, baklava, loukoumathes, and much more; Greek wines and beer, or for the more daring, Ouzo and Metaxa; Greek folk dancing and live music performed by the band Mythos; a large cultural display that explains the history of Greece
and the customs and tradition of the Greek people; a pantopolion (a marketplace of imported Greek gifts and jewelry); and cooking demonstrations.

On Friday, lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the following combinations are $8.50 each: Combo A: Mousaka with spanakopita and dolma; Combo B: Pastitsio with spanakopita and dolma; Combo C: Shrimp santorini with rice and beans; Combo D: Vegetarian with rice, dolma, spanakopita, tiropita and fasolakia.

For more information about the Sacramento Greek Festival, click here.

by Juliet Farmer