The Pensacola Greek Festival is gearing up for its 65th year in Pensacola this weekend, filled with age-old traditions, decadent baklava sundaes and a taste of Greek culture. Here’s what you need to know before you go, ranging from what’s on the menu, when to hear live music and how much to plan to spend.
When is the Pensacola Greek Festival in 2025?
The Pensacola Greek Festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 7, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 8, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 9.
Where is the Pensacola Greek Festival located?
The Pensacola Greek Festival will take place at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church located at 1720 W. Garden Street.
What type of food is the Greek festival known for?
The Pensacola Greek festival is famous for offering Pensacola delicious Greek food, pastries, coffee and a slice of Greek culture. There are plenty of home-cooked dishes for sale, with some of the usual suspects being moussaka (layered eggplant), spanakopita (spinach and feta triangles), Greek salads, gyros, souvlakia (grilled chicken shish-kabobs), and Greek fries. The desserts are also a big deal, as a separate tent displays the dozens of pastries, paired with a traditional Greek frappe. If you want something to take home, wholesale goods are also available, such as olive oils and blocks of feta cheese.
What’s on the Pensacola Greek Festival menu?Dinner line (Available inside the Hellenic Center)
Lamb Shank Dinner ( Lamb shank, Greek style green beans and manestra with orzo pasta cooked with tomato sauce and chicken broth,) moussaka, pastitsio, spanakopita, tyeopita, dolmathes, Greek side salad, minestra and Greek style green beans. Prices vary from $3 to $25.
Hot corner (in the back right corner of the Hellenic Center)
Dolmathes, spanakopita and tyropita. Prices vary from $3 to $6.
Taverna (Available between the Hellenic Center and Church)
Gyro, loukaniko, Greek side salad, Greek fries, and soda and water. Food prices range from $5 to $15.
Greek pastries (Available outside under pastry tent)
Baklava, baklava cheesecake, chocolate-covered baklava, ergolaves, Grecian torte, Melomakarona, kataifi, kok (chocolate), kok (vanilla), koulouria, kourambiethes, napoleon, and pasta. Prices vary from $2 to $6.
Loukoumades (booth located near the pastry tent)
Loukoumades (deep-fried dough balls drizzled with honey and sprinkled with cinnamon. Loukoumades are $6 and raise money for AHEPA Daphne Chapter 296.
Baklava sundaes (booth between the pastry tent and the main tent)
Baklava sundae (Vanilla ice cream topped with warm baklava pieces.) Sundaes are $6 and raise money for Greek Orthodox Youth of America (GOYA.)
Is there entertainment at the festival?
In addition to the abundance of food and drink, there is live music, dancing, and tours of the historic church. Parishioners lead group tours during the historic Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church during the festival while the choir sings traditional hymns. During these tours, guests learn about the Greek church and community. Meanwhile, in the main dining hall, the bouzouki − a Greek stringed instrument − draws volunteer folk dancers and crowds to dance along with the music.
What’s on the schedule of events for Pensacola Greek Festival?Friday, Nov. 7:11 a.m. – Band until 2 p.m.3 p.m. – Church tour4 p.m. – Band until close5 p.m. − Church tour6:30 p.m. – Hara/ Glenzethes dance7:30 p.m. – Church tour8:30 p.m. – Glenzethes danceSaturday, Nov. 811 a.m. – Band until 2 p.m.Noon – Hara/Glenzethes dance1:30 p.m. – Church tour2:30 p.m. – Hara/Glenzethes dance3:30 p.m. – Church tour4 p.m. – Band until close4:30 p.m. – Hara/Glenzethes dance5:30 p.m. – Church tour6:30 p.m. – Hara/Glenzethes dance7:30 p.m. – Church tour8:30 p.m. – Glenzethes danceSunday, Nov. 99 a.m.- Church service11 a.m. – Food areas openNoon- Band until 3 p.m.12:30 p.m. – Hara/ Glenzethes dance1 p.m. – Church tour2:30 p.m. – Hara/ Glenzethes danceIs alcohol permitted?
Beer and wine will be available for sale at the festival, including special offerings such as Moldovan wine.
Where do I park for the Pensacola Greek Festival?
An alternative option to parking on-site at the festival is to take a free trolley, which starts at 11 a.m. each day, either from Maritime Park or at the corner of Zaragosa Street and Jefferson Street in downtown Pensacola.
Can you pay with a credit card at the Pensacola Greek Festival?
One of the most significant changes made when the festival returned in 2023 was the addition of a credit card option through a Square Pay system, eliminating the need for festivalgoers to bring cash.
How long has the Pensacola Greek Festival been around?
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the festival. The 2020 and 2021 Greek festivals were canceled due to the impact of the pandemic and renovations to the church complex. In 2022, organizers were short on the volunteers necessary to put on the festival. Even so, they managed to host a “Taste of Greece” carry-out-only event with a limited menu. However, the festival returned full force in 2023.
While the Pensacola Greek Festival has always been popular, it really took off in the 1980s when it expanded from the inside of the church out into the parking lot, according to White.
Does the Pensacola Greek Festival run on volunteers?
The Pensacola Greek Festival is almost entirely volunteer-based. It requires roughly 200 volunteers annually, the majority of whom are members of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church.
What does Pensacola’s Greek community look like?
Pensacola’s Greek heritage dates back to the 1800s, when some mariners were the first Greek immigrants to arrive and stay in the area. They worked as local fishermen, and by 1910, about 120 immigrants were permanent residents of the area, bringing with them a rich cultural heritage to share.
As their families expanded, so did the effect of Greek culture on business. While some continued to make their living in the fishing industry, others opened grocery stores, restaurants and small businesses. In 1910, the first Greek Orthodox Church was established.
Festival strikes a chord with Greek community
Festival co-chair Wilson White is working to ensure that Greek Festival is “done properly and honors Greek tradition.
“I feel like we’re getting it right,” White told the News Journal in an interview earlier this year. “I grew up with this, this is part of who I am. I’m a steward of the festival and of the church. I want to make sure it’s done properly, and people enjoy it.”
“It’s the most beautiful opportunity we have to show the city who we are,” White said.
Each year, the festival celebrates Greek culture with elements that engage your senses: the sound of the bouzouki, the smells of the dining hall dishing out slices of their best-selling moussaka or a tour or the taste of a honey-soaked slice of baklava.
“It’s not just one thing or another − it’s all of it together,” White said of the Pensacola Greek Festival experience.
The festival not only opens the public’s eyes to what Greek culture is all about but also brings back a sweet nostalgia. For White, those are memories of his grandmother, or “yiayia,” that come flooding back each year at the festival.
“This is one of the times of the year I remember her the most,” White said.
Where do I go to find more information?
Stay up-to-date on updates regarding the Pensacola Greek Festival on their social media.
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