Dance and eat with the Bay Area's Greeks - San Francisco Bay Area's Greek festivals

Sunset, Sept, 1990

Each September, bankers and housewives, cab drivers and schoolchildren in and around San Francisco don coin-fringed headdresses or shoes with pompons and converge on churchyards and community centers. There, they help themselves from platters heaped with special foods of their ancestral land or dance, dipping and turning in centuries-old patterns to the haunting strains of the clarino clarinet).

They may arrive by car instead of cart nowadays, but Bay Area Greeks are celebrating the ancient custom of panegiri ("everyone to the town square"). In Greece, each village church celebrates on its saint's day; but the churches serving the Bay Area's nearly 50,000 Greeks hold all their festivals in September and May. Anyone is welcome. Admission, except here noted, costs about $2 for adults, $1 for seniors and children 12 and under. Dining and dancing At festivals from Santa Cruz to San Franisco, musicians strum mandolin-like bouzoukis while white-skirted boys leap nd kick in the manner of shepherds in he rocky Epirus, or veiled women spin in the traditional maiden's dance. From rows of booths vendors hawk items from Greek videos to icons of Greek saints. Then there's the food. You can find everything from whole lambs roasting on spits to creamy moussaka, honeyed baklava, and crackly spanikopita (spinach pie). Buffet-style meals run between $7.50 and $9; sold individually, foods are between 50 cents and $4. Each festival is a microcosm of the community it represents. Amid the 4 wooded acres surrounding Belmont's onion domed white church, the audience sips rich Greek coffee as elegantly costumed dancers perform. The San Jose festival has a more casual atmosphere: in a church parking lot jammed with food booths, people leap up from their tables to link arms for a dance or two. September 1, 2, 3: Church of the Holy Cross, 900 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont; (415) 591-4447. This 19-year-old festival features area dance groups, a lavish buffet, and a replica of a traditional villager's hut. Hours are noon to I I Saturday and Sunday, to 10 on Labor Day. Adults pay $3 admission; children 12 and under are free with their parents, $2 unaccompanied. St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Salinas, festival at the Custom House Plaza at Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey; (408) 424-4434. Greek music, dance, and food gives a Mediterranean flavor to old-town Monterey. Hours are 11 A.M. to 7 Pm. Saturday and Sunday, 11 to 4 Monday. Admission is free. September 7, 8, 9.- Prophet Elias Church, 223 Church Street, Santa Cruz; (408) 429-6500. In the tented courtyard, sample Greek pastries or fried calamari as folk dancers spin. Hours are 5 to I I Friday, I I to 10 Saturday, noon to 8 Sunday. September 8, 9: Holy Trinity Church, 999 Brotherhood Way, San Francisco; (415) 584-4747. On Saturday, Greek sweets are offered and children's races are held on the church lawn, followed in the evening by hors d'oeuvres and dancing. You bring your own food on Sunday, but you can buy dessert. Admission is free; hours are 12:30 to 11 Saturday, to 10 Sunday. September 21, 22, 23: St. Basil's Church, 6430 Bose Lane, San Jose; (408) 268-3214. The "Cinderella crews" of this 65-family, one-story church serve food from 5 to 10 Friday, noon to 10 Saturday, noon to 8 Sunday. Look for cooking demonstrations, a table dance, and Byzantine-style icons. September 29, 30, October 1: Church of the Resurrection in Castro Valley, festival at Centennial Hall, 22292 Foothill Boulevard, Hayward; (415) 581-8951. A convention hall turned Greek village offers dance lessons. Outside, musicians stroll the patio while souviaki (shish kebab) barbecues. Hours are 6 to midnight Friday, 10 to midnight Saturday, noon to 8 Sunday. October 12, 13, 14: Cathedral of the Annunciation, 245 Valencia, San Francisco; (415) 861-0057. California's first Greek Orthodox church was badly damaged in last October's earthquake, but the food and dancing go on in the canopied courtyard and old factory next door (current church facilities). Hours are 11 to 11 Friday through Sunday. ri