Church of the Annunciation set for annual Greek Festival

FESTIVE OCCASION: Church of the Annunciation officials Theofanis Markos, left, the Rev. Andrew George and Kevin Phelan, right, this week will soon be ringing this bell in celebration of the parish’s 29th annual Cranston Greek Festival.

Herald photos by Pete Fontaine

READY TO CELEBRATE: The Church of the Annunciation’s new sign – which differs from those in previous years – tells the story of its highly popular Cranston Greek Festival, a three-day event offering fun, food and fellowship.

Posted Thursday, August 28, 2014 2:56 pm

Pete Fontaine

It’s almost time for Cranston’s Rite of September, that fun-and-food-filled Greek Festival that will be held from Friday, Sept. 5 through Sunday, Sept. 7 on the Church of the Annunciation’s spacious grounds at 175 Oaklawn Ave.

There will be authentic Greek food – from roast lamb to gyros and souvlaki to pastries – as well as live Greek music and dance and kids’ games and crafts.

Kevin Phelan, who serves as president of Annunciation’s parish council, announced that festival hours will be Friday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. under the “big top” tents. Admission is free.

In keeping with tradition, the Greek Orthodox parish will again provide free parking – and free transportation – throughout the three day-event.

Festival goers are advised to take advantage of the free shuttle service that will run continuously from the Cranston West High School parking lot right into festival grounds on Oaklawn Avenue. Those seeking more information should call 401-942-4188.

There’s another important part of the Cranston Greek Festival that the Rev. Andrew George, longtime priest at Church of the Annunciation, explained this week while previewing his parish’s annual festival. That, he said, is the celebration of the birth of the Virgin Mary.

“The Orthodox Church commemorates this feast in a three-day celebration annually as the first of the cycle of 12 feast days in the New Church Year that begins on Sept. 1,” George said. “It’s known as the Observance of the Indication.”

George, who along with the Rev. Emanuel Chris will offer tours of the church and vespers during the Greek Festival, went on: “Knowing that there could be no incarnation of Christ without a righteous human woman to give flesh to God, the early Christian church observed the birth of Jesus’ mother early on in history. Mary’s birth to her parents Joachim and Anna was a miracle unto itself in that they were of old age and barren.

“In time, when Mary was three years old, they handed over their daughter to be raised and educated in the Temple in Jerusalem, where she was in special favor with God and chosen to become the mother of Christ at the event of the Annunciation.”

Thus, the Annunciation parish of Cranston, as George noted, has for years scheduled its Greek Festival – known in previous decades as Greek Picnics – around the Nativity of Mary.