Photo by Ross Gallabrese Festival organizers and member of the community cut the ribbon Wednesday top pen Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church's annual Greek Fest. The event runs through Friday.

STEUBENVILLE — For 40 years, the middle part of June has drawn residents from across the Tri-State Area to the corner of South Fourth and South streets in the city’s South End.

They come to participate in the annual Greek Food Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.

This year’s edition began its three-day run Wednesday with a blessing and a ribbon cutting.

“Forty years … that was 1986, and we started across from the old Brody’s Furniture building on Fourth Street,” said Tony Mougianis, the festival co-chair.

This year’s men’s menu includes festival staples including baked chicken, lamb stew, fish and sausage dinners, as well as pastittio, spanakopita, tyropita, moussaka, dolmathes, rice pilaf and green beans. You will also find gyros, souvlaki, loukoumades, Greek french fries and baklava sundaes.

And then there are the many pastries to choose from, items festival organizers said will sell out before the festival comes to an end. It will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, with the kitchen closing at 8 p.m. each day.

It’s the church’s biggest fundraiser of the year, but it serves a bigger purpose — it brings members from all parts of the community together.

“This is a big deal for us,” said Tara Mougianis, Tony’s wife and festival co-chair. “For the people in the community, it means fun, food and friends. This is the biggest festival in the Tri-State Area, and more than 20,000 people will come through our grounds.”

Like several of the volunteers who make the festival work, Vasso Espinosa, the longtime greeter, has been a part of each of the events.

“This brings in the community,” she said. “We’ve had people in years past whose family would fly in and they’d schedule their vacation around the festival. They’re coming in to see their aunt, uncle or family members and they just make it a part of the visit.”

Espinosa is easy to spot — she dresses in traditional Greek attire while interacting with attendees and helping to answer questions. She said she took on the job after the festival’s original greeter died several months after the first event.

“My godparents said, ‘We need you in costume,'” she explained. “When your godparents say something, you listen — I’ve been in costume for 39 years.”

Entire neighborhoods come down together, Espinosa said, adding that a group from Cleveland has chartered a bus to make the trip to Steubenville in the past.

“It’s something that is rich in heritage and rich in the local community’s fiber,” said Cookie West. “It continues to give you an opportunity to engage with those in our community. It’s not just for the Greeks — it’s for everyone in the community. This is an opportunity for us to get together and learn about each other’s cultures and to get together with and make friends.”

In addition to enjoying the food and camaraderie, West was at the ribbon-cutting to receive a $2,000 donation to the Lee West Foundation. It is named in honor of her son, Lee Alexander West, who was 15 when he died in a house fire 14 years ago. For many years, the festival has made a contribution to a local nonprofit.

“It’s an absolute honor,” she said of the donation. “Tony and Tara and the whole Greek church have been staples in the community and it’s an honor to receive this donation. We will be able to buy Bibles for local youth and do some other initiatives in the community. It’s ultimately an investment in the community, and we are very grateful to have been chosen to receive this donation.”

The festival, Tony Mougianis said, has become an event that people wait for.

“One year, because of COVID, we couldn’t do it, and we received a number of calls and heard a lot of concern and worry that it was done,” he said. “It’s unbelievable — people look forward to this. It’s a thing that attracts everybody. It’s not here for just one demographic — everybody, kids, adults, seniors, people love coming, and with the food, there is something for everybody.”

What makes it more impressive is that it runs on volunteers — hundreds of them. They are the lifeblood of the event.

“If it wasn’t for the people in the community who come to volunteer and the employers who let their employees come to volunteer, we couldn’t make it happen,” Tara Mougianis said.

Tony Mougianis agreed.

“Without this fundraiser, our church would have a hard time,” he said. “Our little church community is getting smaller through attrition. People are getting older and, unfortunately, they are passing on. My dad (Nick Mougianis) has been gone for 23 years, and my mom (Amelia) for three. Those are people who were active in this, and there are many more who were so actively involved,”

In addition to the food, the festival has a marketplace and offers adult beverages for purchase.

“It’s been a blessing,” Espinosa said. “The community has been very good to us. Greeks are community people. We are very community-oriented, and we are very hospitable. We just love to share our culture, our beliefs and our traditions.”