7 things to know about the Columbia SC Greek Festival happening soon

Patrick McCreless
Tracy Glantz / tglantz@thestate.com

Great food and entertainment await visitors to the annual Greek Festival in Columbia this week.

Hosted by the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, the 35th annual festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday through Saturday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, at 1931 Sumter Street. The popular event is expected to feature more than 20 vendors, a wide selection of Greek food dishes, Greek folk dancing and church tours.

While the Greek festival is a long-standing annual tradition, the COVID-19 pandemic greatly disrupted it the last two years, meaning some residents could be confused about event operations this year.

Here are the top seven things to know about the upcoming Greek Festival.

No drive through

Last year, the Greek Festival was forced to be drive through only because of a resurgence in COVID-19. That came after the festival had to cancel completely in 2020 because of the pandemic.

As on Monday, however, the festival is set to be back in full force like normal and open to the public.

New things to see

Holy Trinity is encouraging all visitors to visit the cathedral to see the newly completed narthex iconography and cathedral iconography. Visitors are also invited to tour the cathedral’s new sanctuary. Visitors are asked to wear modest dress and not bring food or drinks into the church.

Visit the new sanctuary at the following times:

  • Thursday, Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.

  • Sunday: 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Where can you park?

There will be some first-come, first-served surface road parking on the surrounding streets. Also, several neighboring churches and businesses will rent parking spaces in their lots during the four-day festival.

Can I bring my dog?

While service animals are welcomed to the festival, bringing regular pets is discouraged. The festival’s website says there will big crowds and plenty of distractions that could make the event unsafe for pets.

What does the festival cost?

There is no charge to enter the Greek Festival grounds. To find out about food prices, pick up a free festival brochure when you arrive. All gift vendors and most of the food booths will accept credit cards.

If you need some cash though, the festival will have three ATMs on site.

Football at the festival?

Visitors won’t have to choose between a fun day out at the festival or watching their favorite football teams playing this weekend. The festival will have an outside Taverna that will include several TVs for watching Saturday and Sunday football.

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