Fun with Felafel

Middle Eastern music, food and dance take center stage at the St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church’s Lebanese Festival June 27-29.

By: Mary Jasch

TimeOFF/Frank Wojciechowski
Above, Mona Eid shows a freshly baked batch of mamool for the festivities.

   When Fr. Maroun came to St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church in Somerset nine years ago, the festival was already swinging with the best of Lebanese music, food and dance. Now, it is a gastronomic Eden and weekend dance party.
   "Everything is homemade. Every day the ladies put fresh food in the freezer so everything’s going to be done," says Fr. Maroun Asmar, pastor. "I’m grateful there are so many people working in their homes, and they donate everything."
   The women make everything from scratch. For weeks before the fun begins, they roll the dough, grind the meat, infuse the honey and chop the nuts. The church belly fills with Middle Eastern goodies to sell at the fair — clothing, water pipes, cookware, musical instruments. Musicians come together to perform at this special place and dancers practice in anticipation. Everyone volunteers their best talents.
   "Friday will be like a rehearsal," says Fr. Maroun. "Saturday and Sunday you will be unable to walk."
   People will come from far and wide, he says — Pennsylvania, Brooklyn, Queens, upstate New York.
   "We have a lot of community there. The phone is always ringing. They come from all over," says Fr. Maroun. The community is a Christian blend of many ethnicities — among them Egyptian, Armenian, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Latin, Syrian, Jordanian and Palestinian. "We are a United Nations church," he says. "That’s the beauty."
   And the beauty of diversity and volunteerism is reflected in the wealth of Lebanese culture and tradition presented at the festival. It is a gourmet dining extravaganza of true Lebanese cuisine, produced and presented by the Ladies’ Sodality.
   Each member volunteered to cook certain dishes. Nouha Habeiche, Sodality president, made 400 of the 5,000 stuffed grape leaves this year. She washes, stuffs, rolls and bakes them with oil, lemon and butter. Plus, she made 200 pieces of baklava filled with cream. They’ll make a total of 1,000 pieces. "There are American people who wait a year to come take the spinach pie from us. Even before we start, there are lines," she says.
   "We make sure the food is all homemade by the parishioners of the church," says Rita Guirguis, church treasurer. "It ensures that all the food tastes good and is a good representation of our heritage and tradition. A restaurant may make it Americanized. This is to the true tradition."
   Among the delectables, they make kibbeh (layers of London broil stuffed with a freshly ground mix of herbs, London broil and bulgur) served sliced, with homemade yogurt or salad, tabbouli, humus, meat pies, kefta (hamburger with parsley and onions), chicken and beef kebobs, gyros and deep-fried falafel (they even boiled and ground the beans) with tahini-yogurt sauce — brand-spanking fresh. Savor it all with a Turkish coffee. Kids and the gastronomically challenged can enjoy traditional American burgers, hot dogs and fries.

			Left, Denise Saliba puts the filling in a mamool cookie.
		Below, from left, Josephine Barrood, Ms. Eid, Angel Azar and Ms. Saliba prepare batches of mamool cookies for baking.
	TimeOFF photos/Frank Wojciechowski

   And the desserts — revelers can indulge in walnut or cream baklava, mamool (cookies stuffed with walnuts, pistachios or dates with honey-lemon syrup), nammura (bar cookies with honey-lemon syrup), two kinds of macaroons — one fried before dipping into syrup and one baked for dieters and the cholesterol conscious, keshta (sweet cheese fingers with honey-lemon syrup and sprinkled with pistachios). "It looks really beautiful," says Ms. Guirguis. Brownies and cup cakes fill the bill for kids.
   Denice Saliba bakes two trays of kibbeh that serve 64. With all the families baking, they’ll have more than 40 trays with more than 2,560 servings of kibbeh.
   "We get a good piece of meat, no veins or fat. It has to be soft meat — London broil," she says. "And the tabbouli is so beautiful the way we make it. We have about 45 women volunteering, just making kibbeh and rolling grape leaves. Every leaf has to be stuffed and rolled in a proper way because it has to be presented outside for everyone. We all do the work — we do the best for our church."
   Sunday morning brings Mass at 10 and everyone is welcome, for St. Sharbel’s is a universal church. After Liturgy, a traditional Lebanese breakfast will be served. Kenafi, cheese-filled sesame bread drizzled with honey syrup, takes the plate of honor. "People wait for it," says Ms. Saliba.
   "I hope people will try the best food in their lives," says Ms. Habeiche. "I want them to have the best time and meet the Lebanese people. We started with 1,000 people coming the first year, now we expect six to 7,000 coming to the festival."
   Church councilman Roukos Jacobs’ favorite part of the fiesta is the music. The seven-piece Middle Eastern band is composed of two keyboards, electric guitar on the jazzy side, a gypsy-ish violin, a "doumbek" with a wide range of pitches, a "tabel" bass drum for folk dancing, and a lead singer on oud.
   The band tunes up at 3 p.m. on Saturday and at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Toward evening, everybody on the dance floor will be rubbing elbows, says Mr. Jacobs. A Middle Eastern dance troupe, led by the renowned Gabby Matar, will perform folk dances.
   There are pony rides, jumping gyms and games for kids, and raffles. Fr. Maroun has been known to raffle off a trip for two to Lebanon.
   The church has items for sale that reflect Lebanese heritage such as traditional clothing and elaborate glass-bottomed water pipes. Jacobs says these pipes are used in almost 85 percent of Middle Eastern homes as a center of conversation when, after dinner, people gather round to smoke fruit-flavored tobacco. The smoke is sweet and light, and the tobacco is sometimes used as a dessert.
   Festival-goers can make their own music with Middle Eastern instruments, and their own special pastries with wooden molds and other cooking tools the church has for sale.
   Without the good will and dedication of St. Sharbel’s parishioners, there would be no community party, for there are no vendors here. While the women cook, a hundred men set up the tents and chairs, says Mr. Jacobs. "It’s awesome. It’s a very loving and warm community. There’s a lot of respect," he says.
   "The festival is one of the biggest fund-raisers of the year," he says. "It portrays the Lebanese heritage and pride in a positive way. Despite all the differences in regions of the world today, music and food are both a medium that bring people together."
   And don’t forget romance. "At the festival, we want the people to get to know each other," says Fr. Maroun. "You’d be surprised how many marriages take place from the festival."
The 17th Annual Lebanese Festival takes place at St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church, 7 Reeve St., Somerset, June 27-29. Hours: Fri. 6-10 p.m., Sat. noon-11 p.m., Sun. noon-10 p.m. Free admission. For information, call (732) 828-2055.