San Jose Greek Festival 2024!

This weekend is the annual San Jose Greek Festival, one of the largest ethnic festivals in the Bay Area. If you like amazing Greek food, live entertainment, and friendly people, this is a San Jose tradition you won't want to miss. 

The festival is entirely volunteer run and all the food is made using family recipes that have been used for generations. The Greek folk dancing will be done by teams that compete nationally and the costumes the dancers wear are handmade and unique to many of the regions in Greece. It's a very authentic experience all around.

Admission is only $5 per person, children under 12 are free.

The festivities take place on May 31st (5pm-10pm), June 1st (11am-10pm), and May 31st (11am-8pm). The area immediately surrounding St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (1260 Davis St.) is the epicenter of the event. Free parking and shuttle service is available at 1900, 1922, 1960, and 2022 The Alameda.

For a preview, below are photos by Victoria Symrniotis from last year's event.

San Jose Greek Festival 2015!

Next weekend is the annual San Jose Greek Festival, one of the largest ethnic festivals in the Bay Area. If you like amazing Greek food, live entertainment, and friendly people, this is a San Jose tradition you won't want to miss. 

The festival is entirely volunteer run and all the food is made using family recipes. The Greek folk dancing will be done by teams that compete nationally (and some have even won first place), and the costumes the dancers wear are handmade and unique to many of the regions in Greece. It's a very authentic experience all around.

During the festival there will be a bunch of giveaways (food, wine, desserts, and CDs). There will also be giveaways leading up the the festival next week over at the Greek Festival Facebook Page.

The festivities are taking place on May 29th (5pm-10pm), May 30th (11am-10pm), and May 31st (11am-9pm). The area immediately surrounding St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (1260 Davis St.) is the epicenter for the event. You won't be able to park anywhere near it, so just get in the general area and follow the music.

Bring a copy of the image below--or pull it up on your phone--for FREE admission! For more info on the event, click here, here, or here.

San Jose Greek Festival 2014 Next Week (FREE ADMISSION)

The annual Greek Festival is taking place next week from Friday, May 30th to Sunday, June 1st at Saint Nicholas Church in San Jose's Rose Garden neighborhood. This is one of if not the largest ethnic festival in San Jose, and is definitely worth checking out. Just about all of the food is completely home made, and they have the best lokoumades anywhere in the Bay Area (fried doughnut holes drenched in honey and covered in walnuts and cinnamon). They will also be serving lamb chops from Evvia/Kokkari restaurants--the best Greek places I know of around here. Of course, in addition to awesome food you will also have music, dancing, a kids area, and contests.

You can print out the last image below for free admission and there should be plenty of free parking in the general area with shuttles to take you to the festival. For more information, please visit the San Jose Greek Festival Facebook page.

San Jose Greek Festival this Weekend!

One of the largest ethnic festivals in the South Bay is going down this weekend, and we have a free pass for you! The San Jose Greek Festival is a celebration of Greek food, music, and culture and takes place outside St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at 1260 Davis Street. The event actually runs three whole days starting this Friday.

There are a couple of new food items this year, including a vegetarian gyro. Greek is not always the most vegetarian-friendly cuisine around, but rest assured you will have some great options this year if you don't eat meat. For those that do, you can never go wrong with the lamb! Another new item this year is an olive medley that will be served at the Greek wine and cheese booth.

To get in for free, either print out the blue flier below or load it up on your phone at the festival entrance. To learn more about the festival, just click one of the links below:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SJGREEKFESTIVAL 
Instagram: http://instagram.com/sjgreekfestival
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sjgreekfestival

Free Pass to the San Jose Greek Festival!

The Greek Festival is taking place this weekend near St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. There will be tons of food, music, and entertainment. Just print out the flyer below and you'll get in for free!

For a full list of events, click here.

San Jose Greek Festival June 3-5th!

The San Jose Greek Festival is just over a week away! I must admit that I have never attended this one, but the letter from Georgia below sold me on this event. I'm definitely putting this on my calendar and am hoping to get some good pics to share.

Oh, and you can print out the image below for free admission!



Hello Josh!

I hope this email finds you well! I wanted to submit news for the San Jose Greek Festival coming up the first weekend of June, on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of the month. Hopefully if you've been you know what it's like. There's always fresh food at the stands outside, especially the sweets/desserts, but the real and more authentic Greek specialties are found in the community center near the dancing area. People who are first time visitors never seem to remember to go in there since at first glance it seems like it's just an indoor dining area, but is has such great food in there too (a good spot to avoid the sun, or as of late, the rain!). Gyros are considered Greek fast food which were popularized in the late-middle part of the 20th century when there was a tourism boom. The souvlaki, sausages, salads, tzaziki sauce, and roast lamb (both at the main food line/stand and the Evvia booth) are more like every day eatings when you go out, but the dining hall is like Greek comfort food, what your mom makes/the stuff you grew up on.

One of my favorite things to do at the festival is to get some fries, and loukaniko (Greek sausage) or the souvlaki that has been bbq'd, drizzled in olive oil, oregano and lemon juice and sip on a glass of Retsina, a specialty wine from Greece. It's an acquired taste since it's made in pine barrels (the wine absorbs some of the flavors to give it a unmistakably unique taste), but best and usually only enjoyed ice cold under the hot sun.

The inner courtyard has umbrealla tables and a coffee shop set up as well where people can get a frappe, a modern coffee drink that everyone drinks in Greece. And I mean EVERYONE. It's truly something I miss from Greece: sitting outside a cafe with my parea (my group of friends) while sipping my frappe as long as I want and people watching.

A lot of people say it's hard to enjoy the festival if you are young, that it's for an older set of people or people who are more laid back, but the food is fantastic, the people are so welcoming, and with the right friends and attitude it's a great way to start off the summer in San Jose.

I've uploaded a flyer here which can be printed and used for free admission: http://i54.tinypic.com/140lj6.jpg It's usually $3 for students, $5 for adults. There's plenty of free parking and free shuttle service that drops off right at the entrance.

I'd advise that pets aren't allowed, however!

Best regards,
Georgia