By Mary Ellen Day, Special Writer
The Ethnic Food Festival is back at Holy Ghost Carpatho Russian Orthodox Church at 249 South 7th Avenue on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The festival has been a longtime tradition in the church and as a community event.
Holy Ghost Church has been doing ethnic food festival for more than 18 years. Early on, it was called a picnic before church leaders realized that people thought it was a private event and not the town event as was intended. The name was changed.
”It is mostly a time for people to get together,” said parishioner Shelia Smart. “We are thrilled to do this because of the flood that happened last year with Irene and we were not able to have our festival. We are slowly getting everything back and we are happy to be back to prepare these foods and have the festival.”
The church was hit by floods in 2007 and by Hurricane Irene in August 2011. After the church was devastated a year ago, parishioners worked long hours to replace and rebuild the basement, which houses cooking facilities and a sanctuary, which had filled with about 10 inches of water.
Patrons will enjoy homemade their ethnic delicacies, including pirohi, halupki, haluski, sausage and peppers, potato pancakes, hamburgers, hot dogs, salads and homemade desserts. Frozen pirohi by the dozen will be available to purchase. Takeout orders will also be available.All the proceeds will benefit the church according to Ms. Smart.
Parishioners have been making all the food in that renovated church kitchen. They have been making pirohi for about a month and will be making stuffed cabbage and haluski (cabbage and noodles) this week.
The festival will be held outside on the church grounds under a tent unless it is raining. Then it will be moved into the church.
”We are tired of being flooded and we have been working on ways to prevent this,” said Ms. Smart. “We are moving all of our electric fuse boxes from downstairs in the basement to above where the highest water has been so far. We hope that is will never get much higher and, if it is, we will truly be under water,” she laughed.
There are additional things that they would like to do to help reduce the recovery from being flooded.
Ms. Smart invites everyone in the community to “Come out, sit down, chat and meet people and have some good food.”