Antonia Sotiropoulos, left, of Falmouth, Evangelia Ifantides, center, of Biddeford and Sofia Ifantides of Biddeford enjoy dinner Friday during the Lewiston-Auburn Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 155 Hogan Road in Lewiston. “We come every year,” Sofia said. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — Freshly made pastries, fresh boiled Greek coffee, traditional dance and music, and treasures such as glass magnets made in Sparta were among the offerings Friday at the Lewiston-Auburn Greek Festival.

It began with a blessing of the festival grounds at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Hogan Road, leading into a two-day celebration of Greek culture, food and faith that began in 1978.

“As the saying goes, come for the food, stay for the religion,” David LeGloahec said Friday as he tended the “loukoumades” booth. At least, that’s how it’s been for LeGloahec. He is the treasurer of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, but also tasked with making loukoumades at the festival since 2005.

The sweet, airy honey puffs have been a crowd-pleaser year after year, LeGloahec said. He serves the loukoumades fresh to order, frying the leavened dough until golden brown and then soaking them in a lemony honey syrup.

“I’ve been training my young ‘Padawans’ here,” LeGloahec said with a smile. Maria Bendo and Sam Fayavnos were the young helpers at the loukoumades stand. “We have the recipe written down, so we know how to pass it on,” he added.

Over the years, the festival has had a “steady” presence, LeGloahec said. “It hasn’t grown much but it is steady. There are people who come every year. There are people who know that the Greek Festival comes after the Labor Day.”

“There are people who just come for the food and then there are people who want just the pastries. And then there are people who show up around 6 p.m.,” LeGloahec said. “They pack themselves with some ouzo (an anise-flavored liquor) and then they party, trying to learn the Greek dances.”

According to LeGloahec, there’s a fourth group of festivalgoers too. “There are those treasure trove hawks who come in. They’re the first ones at the line at 11 o’clock,” he said.

Mike Pelletier of Farmingdale explains the menu to a visitor Friday during the Lewiston-Auburn Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Hogan Road in Lewiston. Pelletier and his wife, Ann, have been coming to the church for 40 years and help at the festival each year. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

The treasure trove is Dorothy Moskovis’ territory. She oversees everything from the collection to the pricing and sale of the secondhand goods for fundraising. The treasure trove offers another chance to get goods that are in need of a better home, from one-of-a-kind paintings to Greek-made porcelain sets, silverware, jewelry, to children’s toys and a fur coat. “I like things that evoke of the old country, Greece,” Moskovis said.

Like Moskovis, Margery Mars also makes an effort to bring Greece to Maine. Mars spends months choosing the souvenirs that will be sold at the festival. More often than not, the trinkets come from Greece. “The glass magnets there, the glass is really different. They are made in a little village outside of Sparta,” Mars said. “I pull all the vines for this table and I am on the internet for months, trying to find the right things that I think are fun.”

From year to year, festival Chairwoman Melissa Simones Landry thinks of “what we want to do differently, what we want to keep the same.”

“It’s a lot of fun, but it’s a lot of moving pieces too,” she said. “It’s like a wedding. You get some things done on the early end and then other things are just following up.”

The festival is a tradition and a family affair for many, whether it’s working the stands or getting a sweet fix with baklava.

“I don’t know if I’ve worked, but I’ve been here all my life,” Florentina Mendros said. Mendros was helping her cousin in the coffee booth. “My aunt used to run it but she had a stroke in summer,” Mendros said. “She’s doing pretty good now, but can’t be here this year.”

“Our family’s been running the coffee (stand) since the festival began … It’s our thing,” Ray Goulet said Friday, as he filled cups with hot, foamy Greek coffee. The coffee is boiled, not brewed. Once in the cup, the finely ground coffee beans settle at the bottom of the cup, leaving behind the trademark sediment or mud.

Visitors look over the menu Friday during the Lewiston-Auburn Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church at 155 Hogan Road in Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Making the cookies and pastries that go with the coffee or as a treat on their own is a team’s work, Christine Rattey said.

“We’ve made about 1,200 of each of the kinds,” Rattey said. “The fewer people you have, the longer it takes. This year, we had like 30 people. We had a big crowd, so that was organized chaos. It was really good though,” she added.

Diana Tozier was there for the baklava — the flaky pastry made with layers of buttered filo dough, soaked in syrup.

“I’m looking for some good baklava. You don’t find it very often in Maine,” Tozier said. “The festival was a little strange during the pandemic but it’s come back, and it’s just as good as it was before.”

Judy Sanborn said that she makes a trip from Rumford every year for the festival’s spanakopita, a savory treat made with filo dough layered with a spinach and feta cheese filling. Sanborn was hoping to bring some of the spanakopita for her grandson, who had enjoyed a slice a few years back.

“My grandson came down with me one year. He does not like feta (cheese) or spinach. He just said, ‘give me something good,'” Sanborn recalled. “I ordered him some spanakopita.”

“We got back as far as Lake Auburn, I pulled over on the side of the road and asked if he’d liked it. He said it was ‘so so good,'” Sanborn continued. “He’s asked for it again.”

Anastasios Bendo, priest at Holy Trinity Greek  Orthodox Church on Hogan Road in Lewiston, walks Friday with Cynthia Nichols as she arrives for the Lewiston-Auburn Greek Festival at the church. Nichols’ husband, George, helped build the church. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal