Guests at this year’s St. Symeon Food and Culture Fair will see a church interior completely filled with large iconographic murals. Tours of the church will be available throughout the event. Now in its sixth year, the fair continues to offer baked goods, gifts and hot foods such as Greek doughnuts, homemade pierogi, Ukrainian borscht and sausage roll sandwiches at its open-air market on the church grounds.
Cultural programs
“The Food and Culture Fair is our annual open house,” explained Father Alexander Fecanin, the priest of St. Symeon. “This year it is special because the fair is on our patron saint’s feast day, October 12.” The patron saint of the church is Saint Symeon the New Theologian, a 10th-century Byzantine monk and poet. Saint Symeon is one of three saints with the title “Theologian,” the other two being Saint John the Apostle and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus. Father Alexander will give a talk on Saint Symeon at 10:30 a.m. in the church.
The choir concert is always a highlight of the Food and Culture Fair. The renowned choir of St. Symeon’s Orthodox Church, under the direction of Subdeacon Stephen Ritchey, will perform a concert of sacred music entitled “This is the day the Lord has made” at 11am, featuring some of the most popular hymns.
“Every Sunday in the Orthodox Church the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated,” explained Sdn. Stephen. “This concert includes selected hymns from the weekly services of the Church’s liturgical cycle, particularly the Saturday evening service of Great Vespers and the Sunday morning services of Matins and Divine Liturgy,” he added.
At 1 p.m., Protodeacon Ephraim Rivers will give a lecture in the church explaining the ancient Christian tradition of sacred art and the role of icons in Orthodox Christianity. This popular annual lecture is updated each year to include new and different information, so previous participants will learn something new this year.
Marketplace
The St. Symeon Food and Culture Fair has been held annually since 2018 (with the exception of 2020). In addition to the cultural programs offered at the church, the event features an open-air market where guests can purchase baked goods and gifts from various cultures around the world. Each year, church members work in teams to set up market stalls that reflect the diverse ethnic backgrounds of the community.
This year, the ever-popular Slavic booth has been renamed “Babushka’s Kitchen” in honor of the church’s beloved Ukrainian babushka, Lydia Landar, who prepares the event’s borscht, among other dishes. Slavic tea from a samovar and homemade compote (a traditional Slavic fruit drink) are offered in a booth separate from Babushka’s Bakery, themed “The Slavic Tea Room.”
Cafe Europa will also be expanding this year, offering homemade French macarons alongside popular dishes such as Irish soda bread and Italian wedding cookies. The other market stalls will also be returning: The Balkan Bakery, Middle Eastern Market and Southern Sweets and Savories. Guests at this year’s Food and Culture Fair can also find freshly made loukoumades or fried Greek honey balls at Opa Kabana’s stall.
The event will also feature sausage rolls, homemade pierogi and Ukrainian borscht as hot lunch items. The pierogi are Slavic dumplings filled with potatoes, cheese and onions. “We make our pierogi completely from scratch,” explained Niki May, the event’s chairwoman. “We prepare to make as many pierogi as we can for about a week,” May added. Pierogi are served hot with caramelized onions and sour cream and are also available frozen by the dozen.
Guests can enjoy their grocery shopping on-site in the fellowship hall and outdoors on the church grounds, and also stock up on baked goods to take home. There will be music for guests in the fellowship hall, and the church gift shop will be open, offering books, choir CDs, icons, toys, and other goods for sale.
St. Symeon’s Orthodox Church is located at 3101 Clairmont Avenue in Birmingham. It is a parish of the Orthodox Church in America, a jurisdiction of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Regular weekly services include Saturday Vespers at 5 p.m. and Sunday Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m. A complete service schedule is available at StSymeon.com. Services are conducted in English and visitors are welcome.
Photos are available here.
