Overall it was a good time. Kudos to the organisers as you have pulled of a great event - your hard work is appreciated! We were tossed up between going early and getting caught in rush hour traffic, but beating the lineups, or going later and experiencing the opposite. It was definitely the right move going early and taking the shuttle bus, because the lineups were almost non-existent at 6pm. By 8pm when we were leaving the lineups were out of the premises and WAY down the street!
Great to be outside on a cool summer's evening, surrounded by friendly, smiling people having a good time. This may sound silly given the venue, but what I really found so great was all the authentic Greek accents! Take that Mr Harper - this is a country of immigrants and we don't need no steenking hardline approach to immigration like what I heard on the news today concerning the boatload of Tamils from Sri Lanka. Shame on you! My grandfather came off a boat and was welcomed by this country! And I hope there will be many more generations of grandkids who can say the same.
It was so great not to have to use a porta-potty! They welcomed us into their church and community center, where we could even wash our hands in potable water that we did not have to worry about poisoning ourselves with.
My wife really enjoyed the Gyros. The baklava was fantastic. The ouzo enjoyable. The Greek (Turkish) coffee was to die for! Have not had that in 20 years since living in the Soviet Union where it was served almost universally in Odessa, also on the Black Sea.
The shuttle bus from a nearby school was simply genius. The closer you got to the actual festival, the more cluttered every single side street got with traffic. And if any one of those home owners calls bylaw - you've got a bunch of tickets being handed out.
The music was extremely enjoyable, and the folk dance as well. The traditional costumes were beautiful - my 6 year old son who does Ukrainian folk dance (part of our heritage) especially enjoyed watching it. Though if I may say, the Ukrainians definitely have the moves over the Greeks :-P Give me Hopak over Opa! :-)
Most of the prices were average to reasonable.
The sausage were ENORMOUS!
You could buy a whole lamb! A whole lamb that was being roasted on the spit right there!
The Bad
Molson Canadian the only beer at Greekfest? OK, the Greeks are not known for their beer - in hindsight I should have had wine. But Molson Canadian? A nice local microbrew would have been a nicer gesture.
Some of the prices were high - $1.75 for a can of pop is unforgivable. Juices were high priced as well.
While the sausage was behemoth, it was not really pleasing in flavour to either of my 2 boys, or to me. I had no idea beforehand what Greek sausage was, but I'll have to try to remember that none of the three of us like it. It had the same spicing as the muslim sausage I tried a few years ago and really did not like - though fortunately not as intensely flavoured as that one. So I will probably be able to eat the leftovers we brought home in a doggie bag.
It is a tossup whether to put this on in the good, or the bad, but I'll put it here. The cleanup crew was so efficient they were a little too aggressive in pulling stuff off your table when they thought you were done with it.
The souvlaki plate I found a bit overpriced for what you got, and the sticks of pork were not terribly flavorful. I would not have it again.
The Ugly
OK, I know this in advance going into these sorts of things, but it still grates on me pretty badly seeing all those disposable plates, forks, napkins and so on. I know that for single organisers of events like this it is nearly impossible to do otherwise, but I have a glimmer of hope that there is a business opportunity out there for someone who wants to provide a green party service that can provide reusable plates, utensils and so forth at an affordable price.
zymurgist
Overall it was a good time. Kudos to the organisers as you have pulled of a great event - your hard work is appreciated! We were tossed up between going early and getting caught in rush hour traffic, but beating the lineups, or going later and experiencing the opposite. It was definitely the right move going early and taking the shuttle bus, because the lineups were almost non-existent at 6pm. By 8pm when we were leaving the lineups were out of the premises and WAY down the street!
Great to be outside on a cool summer's evening, surrounded by friendly, smiling people having a good time. This may sound silly given the venue, but what I really found so great was all the authentic Greek accents! Take that Mr Harper - this is a country of immigrants and we don't need no steenking hardline approach to immigration like what I heard on the news today concerning the boatload of Tamils from Sri Lanka. Shame on you! My grandfather came off a boat and was welcomed by this country! And I hope there will be many more generations of grandkids who can say the same.
It was so great not to have to use a porta-potty! They welcomed us into their church and community center, where we could even wash our hands in potable water that we did not have to worry about poisoning ourselves with.
My wife really enjoyed the Gyros. The baklava was fantastic. The ouzo enjoyable. The Greek (Turkish) coffee was to die for! Have not had that in 20 years since living in the Soviet Union where it was served almost universally in Odessa, also on the Black Sea.
The shuttle bus from a nearby school was simply genius. The closer you got to the actual festival, the more cluttered every single side street got with traffic. And if any one of those home owners calls bylaw - you've got a bunch of tickets being handed out.
The music was extremely enjoyable, and the folk dance as well. The traditional costumes were beautiful - my 6 year old son who does Ukrainian folk dance (part of our heritage) especially enjoyed watching it. Though if I may say, the Ukrainians definitely have the moves over the Greeks :-P Give me Hopak over Opa! :-)
Most of the prices were average to reasonable.
The sausage were ENORMOUS!
You could buy a whole lamb! A whole lamb that was being roasted on the spit right there!
The Bad
Molson Canadian the only beer at Greekfest? OK, the Greeks are not known for their beer - in hindsight I should have had wine. But Molson Canadian? A nice local microbrew would have been a nicer gesture.
Some of the prices were high - $1.75 for a can of pop is unforgivable. Juices were high priced as well.
While the sausage was behemoth, it was not really pleasing in flavour to either of my 2 boys, or to me. I had no idea beforehand what Greek sausage was, but I'll have to try to remember that none of the three of us like it. It had the same spicing as the muslim sausage I tried a few years ago and really did not like - though fortunately not as intensely flavoured as that one. So I will probably be able to eat the leftovers we brought home in a doggie bag.
It is a tossup whether to put this on in the good, or the bad, but I'll put it here. The cleanup crew was so efficient they were a little too aggressive in pulling stuff off your table when they thought you were done with it.
The souvlaki plate I found a bit overpriced for what you got, and the sticks of pork were not terribly flavorful. I would not have it again.
The Ugly
OK, I know this in advance going into these sorts of things, but it still grates on me pretty badly seeing all those disposable plates, forks, napkins and so on. I know that for single organisers of events like this it is nearly impossible to do otherwise, but I have a glimmer of hope that there is a business opportunity out there for someone who wants to provide a green party service that can provide reusable plates, utensils and so forth at an affordable price.