Greek Fest Sweet as Honey
By Lenore McKenzie-Morris
The gold dome of St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church is a familiar landmark on the U.S. 17 Bypass in Myrtle Beach.
Every fall the church draws thousands of visitors to the annual Greek Festival. They come hungry and eager to the glistening golden dome, like bears to a honey comb. They know there will be Greek pastries.
Honey-laden baklava and almond-favored crescent cookies are a favorite of Grand Strand residents who faithfully attend the festival each year. But it's not just the sweets that draw a steady crowd to the four-day event.
"I think it's the camaraderie," said Terri Rhodes on her annual visit to the festival. "Seeing people you would like to see more than once a year. And of course, the food is wonderful."
Erica Crater had installed her three children on a step outside the church while her husband Randall went to get some souvlaki, his favorite Greek meal. The skewered pork kabobs were available at a couple of booths on the church grounds and inside the church hall as well.
"I get it every year when we come back here," Randall said, while his one-year-old son Grant had his shoes cleaned by his smiling mother after Grant stuck it artfully in his ice cream dish.
The souvlaki is best eaten with someone playing an eight-stringed bouzouki in the background while fully costumed dancers culturally transport you to the Mediterranean.
This is a well-stocked festival, complete with Ketsina, Nasiakos and other Greek wines, as well as a Greek beer and shots of ouzo.
Erjon Ahmeti sampled a Marathon beer along with his gyro inside the massive church hall where patient visitors lined up for food. A repeat visitor to the festival, Ahmeti brought first-time visitor Amanda Roberts along to join in the fun.
"I've never been here before," she said. "I saw the Greek Fest going on and thought it would be a good time."
The festival is a well-balanced affair with plenty to drink and eat, live entertainment and vendors selling everything from Greek arts and crafts to potted plants. Many visitors took advantage of the church's open door policy during the festival and went inside for one of Father Konstantine Eleftherakis' hourly tours.
If the dome outside is eye catching with its bright and shiny gold, the walls inside are breathtaking. Laden with greens and blues, yellows and oranges, reds and purples, the walls are biblical stories full of light.
Father Konstantine spends a great deal of time explaining the iconic images and its context within the Greek Orthodox religion. Barrel vault ceilings form three sections of the church inside, with the massive dome open just beyond the pews near the altar area.
Visitors sat with their faces looking upward at the details, clearly in awe of the color.
"The reason this is my favorite icon," said Father Konstantine as he pointed at the scene of Christ's betrayal, "is because Jesus' face is in the center and the light in the icon is coming from his face."
Greek letters caption each brilliantly executed scene in the church.
Almost every surface of the church is painted out. The only white areas flank the pews on the outside walls.
"Eventually, the white will disappear," Father Konstantine said.
Three phases of the iconographic paintings inside the church have been completed since the church was finished in 1991. In 2002, the dome, with its depiction of Jesus at the center with a ring of saints between faux pillars below, was the first section of the paintings to be completed. Since then, the side domes, with much of it devoted to Mary, were completed within two years in 2004. The latest section to be completed is the story of St. John on the vaulted ceiling over the pews with scenes from Christ's final days on the space below.
The completed project is sure to draw visitors back to the church to view the final installation sometime in the next few years, just as surely as others will return for their Greek food and culture fix.
article mentions Randall crater!! Don’t let this man fool you. He is a scam artist who owes several pple thousands of dollars!!! He is a liar and thief.DO NOT have any business dealings with this man.