Albany’s Greek Festival Gone Wild

May 27, 2024

Our town’s long had an annual Greek Festival. The kind of multiculturalism I love about this country — not separationist but inclusivist, Greek-Americans welcoming everyone to join in celebrating their heritage. Albany isn’t even especially known for a big Greek community; most festival attendees not being Greecy.

We’d gone once around 30 years ago — a pleasant little low-key event — I got some baklava. So this year my wife and I figured we’d catch some nice Greek dinner fare there.

A premonitory omen was a saturated parking lot. We had to wait for a spot. Wow, this thing has exploded. Now a sprawling 3-day extravaganza, filling the church’s various indoor and outdoor spaces, including legions of vendors, a gargantuan tent with endless rows of dining tables, and a band blasting Greekish music — extremely loud. But no sign of Plato, Socrates, or Aristotle (though we did park behind an “ARI” license plate).

One booth displayed a few children’s books. “Why Do I Have to Go to Greek School?” a title queried. I had Hebrew School, but who knew there’s such a thing as Greek School? There were also “Greek School Dropout” T-shirts. Another book cover asked “Why Do I Have to Wear this Costume?” — picturing a pint-sized Zouave.

I’d imagined the $5 entry fee might put off some of the proletariat. But no — it seemed like half the local populace jammed in there. Maybe charging admission cannily conveyed a psychological signal that this was worth attending. And folks were just looking for a good time. Actually nice to see in a world so full of woe.

However, this meant queues for the food stalls resembling those at airport security, replete with snaking rope lines. Only moving slower.

Well, bravo to Albany’s Greeks. But we decided to beat a strategic retreat, and ate instead at a quiet little Asian bistro. I had a tasty curry.