St. Nicholas Orthodox Church

2014 Festival info:
Sat Sept 27 and Sunday Sept 28.
per
I have attended in the past and plan to attend again this year.

First of all I am scratching my head looking at the other reviews. The person who only saw one food booth obviously did not venture very far into the festival grounds. I have attended this for several years, both as an attendee and a volunteer. The festival has only improved year after year. It *is* smaller, due to the small size of the church, but that makes it a better experience. Secondly, this is a Russian AND INTERNATIONAL festival. Although it is primarily Russian, it does also include elements from other Orthodox cultures, including an Americana Roots band that is one of my favorites.
The Russian Folktale Puppet theater is magical for adults as well as kids. There is a BBQ booth with amazing lamb skewers, more classic Russian dishes and desserts in «Babushka’s kitchen» and don’t even get me started on the Vodka Tasting — natural fruit infusions that were months in the making. The vendors have varied greatly from year to year, and I especially love the bookstore and the vendor selling amber and other semi-​precious Russian specialties. The Borsch is also espeically good, and I am always afraid that the lamb skewers and borsch will sell out before I get it. The children dancers are always fun as is the balalaika band.

I am sorry I didn’t check these comments earlier this week. That was the worst event I have attended since a long time. The place is too small for a gathering like this. The live performance was weird and funny. The food was absolutely tasteless. I liked the church, but the festival was surely a very bad experience.

I ask this church to never have another Russian festival again unless it is worth the effort. I paid for my family to come to the event and thirty minutes later we left for something else. I felt I was robbed of the entry fee. I know Russian culture and this was not it. Make an effort and give us a real deal festival. There was five booths to sell items. Nothing worth buying. One food booth with over hiked prices. My wife can make borsh for a week with less than what I would have paid for a small cup at this event. The entertainment that I watched while I was their was something that would be considered a disgrace in Russia. If people go to this event they will not get a feeling of Russia in any way shape or form. I suggest doing it next year with more food booths, more cultured booths and entertainment. I don’t want to listen to music performed by Americans, I want real Russians doing what they do best. This is not a revue on the church which is very nice. This is for the festival only. Avoid this event until they can provide a real Russian experience.

This review is not about the church but the Russian festival they are doing. The church is nice, but the whole event is horrible. Not only it is small (you can do it yourself in your backyard) but not fun at all. There is just one food booth, food is overpriced and nothing special. Enterntainment is just a few guys playing balalayka. Merchandise — low quality matreshkas, some old crap of no origin (is it a flea market?) and Swarowski crystals (why? I ask you why?). I understand that this is a way to make some money for the church but why not to offer something really fun? I am Russian and I know how much my country has to offer so having a Russian festival like this is a crime. Never again! I was terribly disappointed and embarassed.

Yes! St. Nicholas Orthodox Church hosts its annual Russian/​Slavic Festival in the fall.
Facebook event page:
Here is a link to the event in the San Jose Mercury News:

St. Nickolas is a orthodox church nestled in the Saratoga foothills. With a congregation diverse in ethnic backgrounds services are done in Greek, Russian and English. The church has been in Saratoga many years. Father Basil Rhodes is the head of this parish. He is a true priest who radiates compassion. The church has, in years past, hosted a Russian festival on church grounds, however I am not sure if they do it anymore.