Panegyri

Things we were sorry to see: They have excluded all of the artisans, painters, new-​age crystal and metal-​design image types, and replaced them with the patisserie on center stage in the middle of the «agora» (market). Seriously, an artisan’s market has become a huge pastry sale, and now is the purpose for the agora.
There was almost no room to walk around. Economic sense? Maybe. It wasn’t the old ethnic crowd, and Carol and I agreed on that many times. The Kafeineon was still there, but no longer a comfortable café, or quiet spot. The 20-​minute Sacristy tour was now an hour-​long historical lecture from the Orthodox viewpoint. Not consistent with a carnival tempo, though the lecturer was brilliant. The acoustics weren’t worthy of his words. The event was inappropriate.
The music, which used to be a Greek 5-​or 6 musician group, was now one guy and a recorded percussion track. That guy from Canada who did nouveau flamenco that you loved (I get emails, can’t remember his name), is ancient history.
Food was good, as always, but the full-​dinner crowd looked light. The Gyro and Greek Pizza queues were long. They are pitching to the broader public, and that is the result. I always thought of this fest as an event that would attract immigrants and recent expatriates.
Pick your downhill slope. There are a lot of them tonight. St. Nicholas is optimizing its festival, but it is losing its Hellenic roots, and North African fans as well.
Steve
p. s.: They overdosed on pastries. On drive-​by on Monday June 27, 2016, I saw a sign saying that there would be a continued pastry sale Monday 5 to 9. I stand on my recommendation: bring back the tooled-​copper artisans, the costume jewellery, and the Eastern Orthodox-​inspired paintings, sketches, and other iconography. Or why shouldn’t we just all go to St. Rita’s fest instead?
S/​

Always the best festival in Cincinnati every year! Great food good beer and nice people! Wife and I look forward to it every year! This year we take are child for the first time for some yummy lamb and chicken

Love this festival! Greek food is one of my favorites and nothing is better than homemade! Between the parking and admission it’s a little pricey but the food is well worth it. Try the Greek pizza, Spanakopita, Pastichio, Moussaka, baklava sundae, and some Greek wine! While you eat enjoy some traditional dancers/​music. The beautiful church is open for tours, and there’s more goodies inside. Rides/​games are also present, although not my thing. Buy a raffle ticket for a trip to Greece!

Great festival, great food, and the wine seems to get better as the night goes on… This is one festival that I make a point to attend every year. Hurry up!

West Side– Home of the summer festivals! This is a fun one… its all about the history, dancing, gyro and baklava. I recommend parking at the highschool and taking the shuttle over, its free and very convenient. They also have cooking demo’s that you should definitely check out. It can get busy but worth checking out… who knows, you might have so much fun you do Horos (greek dancing) at the end of the night! Opa!

First timer! Loved it! I never went before because I thought I didn’t like Greek food! Boy was I wrong! Greek pizza, shish kabob and honey puffs, and I am hooked! Can’t wait for next year!

Cincinnati’s Big Fat Greek Festival!
It’s the church festival time of year again, and if you’re in the Cincinnati area, Panegyri should be on your Must See List!
I don’t know that it is necessarily all that unique or that there are really even that many Greeks in Cincy, but this festival just seems to have it all.
Rides — check
Performers on stage — check
Food — check
Raffles — check
Stuff for sale — check
Loads of visitors — check and check
If you need to avoid walking a bit, park at Saint Xavier High School and take the shuttle to the front door.
If you don’t mind walking, there is some parking in the neighborhood immediately west of Winton Road, but be careful, some areas are temporarily no parking for the festival and you will have to walk a bit, but it’s free!
There are a lot of great options if you’re looking to purchase oils, vinegars, soaps, etc; you could win a trip to Greece at the central information booth; drink a Greek wine or have some ouzo; and the food: Gyros, Honey Puffs, Baklava, are only a few of your choices: all homemade. And in case you’re questioning that Skyline booth, just remember, Cincinnati’s most recognizable chili was invented by Greek immigrants.
Admission at the low-​low cost of $ 2.00
Opa!

Somehow, I have lived in the Cincinnati area for 8 years without ever having discovered the Panegyri festival. How excited was I to realize that in time to join in at this year’s 40^th anniversary! No stranger to Greek church festivals, having visited my share in Northeastern Ohio, with a huge Greek population, I was prepared for some serious food and fun.
Some of my favorite features:
Parking at St. X High School may be over a mile away, but a free shuttle on Petermann buses with über-​friendly drivers was great. There were at least 5 buses going between the festival and parking lot, so wait time is almost non-​existent.
There is a $ 2 entry fee, but a portion of that goes to the FreeStore Foodbank to help support local kids who are food insecure. The FreeStore is an awesome local not-​for-​profit, so I was excited to see them as a recipient of the donations.
You can buy bottles of wine. Seriously. Walking around with an open bottle of wine at church… how wrong does that feel??? ;)
The pastry lines inside ran like clockwork. They have it down to an art to move people through the counters and check out lines, so no need to fight for a spot or wait to pay at all! They also accept credit cards for purchases of $ 10 or more.
The food… just shut up. Some of the best souvlaki I’ve ever had, and the pastry assortment I bought (a take-​out container packed full of honey-​covered deliciousness for $ 13.00) was almost killed off before we even got home. We also got a plate full of little Greek noshes (olives, feta, pita, dolmades, Greek meatballs, and peppers) for just $ 5.00!
The church tour. Not only is the actual church a gorgeous building, but we spent almost a full hour hearing about orthodox history and some of the practices of the Greek Orthodox services from the very informative and engaging priest. It was a surprisingly moving experience and well worth attending to get a break from the heat and to learn a little bit more about our community.
What I didn’t love:
I was really hoping to have a little more dancing and music. We attended on a Saturday afternoon, and the adult dancers didn’t even arrive until after 8:30. So for most of the afternoon, with all the Pre-​K through 8-​th grade dancers, it felt a little like being at a school talent show. Adorable but not terribly entertaining, unless you’re related to one of the munchkins on stage.
The wine. I can’t believe I’ve got anything negative to say about wine, but the dry white Santa Something I got was super-​vinegary. It actually tasted like it had been opened several days before the festival.
All in all, the Cincinnati Panegyri festival is definitely a top-​notch church festival that could easily hold its own with any number of Greek fests in Ohio. Now that I’ve discovered it, I will definitely have this one on my radar to kick off summer in the coming years!

The Church does not charge for parking. Places around the church charge for parking because the city doesn’t allow street parking during the festival and the church uses it’s parking lot for… You know… the festival. So people insulting the church for charging for parking, they don’t make a dime off the parking.

Cincinnati is no stranger to gratuitous church festivals throughout the summer. While these celebrations are mostly of the catholic persuasion, Holy Trinity-​St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox trumps all with its version wine by the bottle, delicious Greek fare, music, dancing, and carnival rides. While it may boast your stereotypical church festival features, it isn’t widely known that this is, indeed, a church festival. It feels more like a cultural celebration, which is a huge part of its charm. It helps that Greek food and wine are outstanding, and we all know there are plenty of those (the food deliciously made by various members of the congregation) to go around.
Some quick hits:
The Panegyri always takes place at the end of June. Write it down. Don’t miss it. Tell your friends.
Something like 500,000 people make an appearance at this festival over its three day span each year. It’s HUGE.
The food and drinks are the best. Tip: get there early in the evening while the gyro, Greek pizza, and baklava ice cream lines are short. Another tip: get there on Friday while they still have your favorite kind of the plethora wine they sell by the bottle. It’s cheap. And delicious. (There are tons of other food options, too, but I won’t go into that. They also serve draft beer in addition to wine.)
There is a giant stage where music is played and folk dancing takes place. It adds a very upbeat and happy dynamic to this already-​awesome experience.
Parking and shuttles are available from nearby elementary and parochial schools, as well as at St. XavierHigh School. Entrance fee is $ 2 (children under 12 are free). Trust me, it’s worth it.
The Greek Festival was voted #1 Church Festival by CityBeat readers in the Best of Cincinnati 2010, 2011, and 2012 issues. They weren’t lying.
Located just north of the city limits on Winton Road (north of Winton Place, Northside, and Clifton; east of College Hill), this place is even pretty easy to get to for everyone; especially those who live within the 275 loop.
If you need an excuse to get out and enjoy Cincinnati in its fine, nitty gritty glory, this is it. Plus, it’s in Finneytown, and Finneytown rules.
Get Him […or Her] to The Greek!

This was a pretty cool festival. Different than your usual summer church fest.
You can park at St X and they shuttle you over there for free or you can pay for parking closer to the church.
It was very busy which I always like to see — showing support!
The food was great — I tried a bunch of different things… gyro, chicken, spanakopita, some other stuff I can’t remember, and lots of yummy Greek vino! $ 20 a bottle — not too bad. They have craft beers and your domestics available too.
There is cultural stuff going on throughout the weekend — dances, music, arts and such.
Big white tents with plenty of seating — great festival. A good time was had by all!

This festival gets right down to business. Let’s face it, you’re here for the food.
Panegyri has to be one of the best festivals going on in Cincinnati and I’m sad it took me so long to get here.
Let’s start with the food. Gyros, souvlaki, Greek pizza, mezze plates, moussaka, pastichio and spanakopita are just a few of the highlights. Oh, by the way, that’ll be $ 5 each. The Greeks invented math, so yes, it can turn into a bit of a money pit. But it is a church fundraiser so I can’t hold that against them.
Once you’re done stuffing your face (hey, only $ 1 for lemonade or iced tea) you can take in a traditional dance at the main stage. When they’re not dancing on the main stage, they usually have live traditional Greek music as a nice background.
Watching those dancers has surely worked up an appetite, or maybe you need a sugar or caffeine jolt to stave off the food coma. Head inside to the air conditioned pastry hall. Here’s where you can get all the homemade baklava you crave. There are other unpronounceable delights available and the Yia Yias working the booths will help you with your pronunciations.
There’s also an ad hoc Greek coffee café inside where you can enjoy some authentically prepared Greek coffee (served with a cookie) or a traditional cherry beverage. Now you’re ready for round 2.

I think this is the BEST festival in town. So much fod its unbelievable and the prices are reasonable so wecould try everything and share. The food is all fresh made. We LOVE the taverna where you can buy bottles of Greek wine to share for $ 20. They even let you taste everything first. Live music and dancing. Coffee shops and sweets inside. Make sure you take some homemade baklava with you. Everyone is friendly. It is packed solid in the evenings, especially around the dinner hour. Hard to find a place to sit and eat. Don’t be opposed to sitting in the grass behind the tents with your meal.

One of the better local summer fairs. Homemade Greek food, music, carnival games, and bottles of wine for sale. You need to go to Panegyri at least once!

No more souvenir cups! Nuff said.

Ug.
I’m part Greek, and grew up in NW NJ, spending plenty of time at Greek festivals in that area. I was never a huge fan, but went to plenty.
They were all better than this.
To start, none of the ones in NJ charge parking, which cost $ 5 here. None charge admission, which was $ 2 here. So, bringing a date, you’re out $ 9 before you step foot in the place. I don’t know, that just feels wrong to me. It’s not like it’s a huge amount of money, but you don’t even have to pay covers to get into bars in Cincinnati, why am I paying this much to get into a church?
Then there was the food. The pastries were gone by the time I got there, only a few left. That’s fine, it was 5pm on Saturday and I suppose I should have expected that kind of disappointment.
The Gyros were $ 5 and pretty fresh, so they were ok.
The pork souvlaki was also $ 5 and dry as anything, requiring purchasing another gyro so we could both eat.
The Greek fries were $ 3 Ora Ida crinkle fries.
The pastries were ok and came out to about $ 7.
Water was $ 2 per bottle.
So two people went, ate disappointing Greek food out in the burning hot sun for $ 37, including a quarter mile walk from the parking lot.
Why in the world would I ever do this again? I can get better Greek food for the same price without the heat at virtually any Greek, Lebanese or Middle Eastern place in town.
This was garbage. Maybe fun if you have to occupy young kids by putting them on the Gravitron for a while. But the food was kind of crappy, the atmosphere was more carnival than Greek festival, and charging admission and parking is absolutely insulting.
Also, it wouldn’t be a Cincinnati festival without misplaced chain food. Taste of Cincy has Larosas. Italianfest has Papa John’s. And this Greek festival has Skyline. Makes absolutely no sense, and just smells like desperate attempts for more money.
You’d think, given the money they make, they’d have a nicer church, no? Or, at least, they would have reformatted the Wikipedia articles before putting them up in the «Culture» room?
Really, I’m that angry about having to pay for parking and admission. It makes zero sense, and absolutely nothing here was worth paying to be admitted to. Just got to a Greek restaurant or Skyline if you want this food.

I’d never, ever heard of or been to a church festival in my life until I moved to the Cincinnati area. The first one I attended was the Panegyri Greek Festival and I had such a blast!
First of all, I love Greek food… so this did not disappoint! I had a gyro, spanikopita, and baklava ice cream (which was by far my favorite). It just hit the spot on such a hot, 90-​degree summer day! No other church festival I’ve been to has surpassed Panegyri!

Panegyri is the one fest I always attend. What’s more enjoyable than relaxing on a sunny day or warm night with live bouzouki music, biting into a Gyro sandwich carved in front of you or honey coated Louthamades piping hot (all cooked by the church members with their family recipes straight from the old country), greek wine, and watching children/​men/​women dancing Greek village dances? Saturday night is really busy (hey, that’s the fun part!) but if you want to avoid the crowds, go on Friday night or in the afternoon.
Rated #1 Church Fest 2010 in Best of Cincinnati by CityBeat. Admission is $ 2, portions are large. This year it’s June 25 – 27.

The Greek Festival quickly became a staple in my life when I moved to Finney Town. It seems like the one event in the year that every single person from the town goes to, and it’s worth it.
The Greek Festival isn’t too much different from any other festival. Carnival rides and games, entertainment, and tons of food. The big difference here is that the food is amazing! I am a huge fan of Greek and Mediterranean food, so to have the opportunity to chow down on some Greek food prepared by people only once or twice-​removed from Greece is a rare treat. They have Spanakopitas and Tiropitas, Grecian pizza and of course, Gryos. It’s all fantastic and really not too expensive for what you get.
The other big difference here is that the entertainment consists of traditional Greek dancing, performed by children and adults in the church community. It’s really fun to watch… for awhile, and then they keep going… and going in circles… and circles. But! I am very impressed with the sense of pride in their heritage that is instilled in the children and am glad that people can still be extremely proud of their culture.
If you haven’t attended Panegryi, you may want to make it a point to go this coming Summer.