43rd annual Boise Greek Food Festival gets underway this weekend

BOISE, Idaho — A longtime Boise tradition returns this weekend to Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Boise.

The 43rd annual Boise Greek Food Festival is sharing Greek culture with the community once again with fun for the whole family.

There is much more than just food, music and dancing; church tours and a market will round out the festival.

A look at this year’s menu can be found here. 

Festivities get underway at 11 a.m. Friday, May 30th, and Saturday, May 31st, and wrap up around 9 p.m.

Festival organizers hope that everyone who comes will get a belly full of good food and a better understanding of Greek culture.

Effie Kaufman, a longtime organizer of the event, says the festival has brought the community together for generations and hopes they continue to build a welcoming culture. 

“One thing that’s happening is, I think a lot of people are taking traveling more than ever before, and people are becoming acquainted with these different cultures. And when you come here, I think the first thing for us is always going to be food, sharing our food and whatnot,” said Kaufman. 

“Our children now our grandchildren are learning to Greek dance and loving it. That’s huge. Our priest is taking people through our church. I think it’s very nice to see the church and to explain some of the things. You know, why do we have icons? How did we get to this particular spot in theology,” Kaufman said.

Tours of the church take place on both days of the festival.

Free Greek Dance lessons will be offered following performances. 

Parking will be tricky, as the church is in a residential neighborhood in west downtown.

Kauffman said you might have to circle the neighborhood once or twice to find a parking spot. The church will not have an ATM this year but credit and debit cards as well as cash will be accepted. Organizers ask that you leave your four-legged friends at home.