{"id":68054,"date":"2024-07-05T11:58:24","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T15:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ontheridgemagazine.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/05\/st-sophia-of-winter-haven-celebrates-annual-greek-festival\/"},"modified":"2024-07-05T12:22:20","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T16:22:20","slug":"st-sophia-of-winter-haven-celebrates-annual-greek-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winterhavendaily.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/05\/st-sophia-of-winter-haven-celebrates-annual-greek-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Sophia of Winter Haven\u00a0Celebrates Annual\u00a0Greek Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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St. Sophia of Winter Haven Celebrates Annual Greek Festival<\/p>\n\n\n\n

by James Coulter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheers of \u201cOpa!\u201d sounded out loud for three days straight as locals proudly celebrated their Greek culture and heritage during the annual Greek Festival, hosted last weekend at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church of Winter Haven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more than 40 years, St. Sophia\u2019s has hosted the annual festival in celebration of its congregation’s rich Greek heritage with three days of food, music, dance, and festivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children dressed up in traditional Greek costumes, groups performed Greek music and dances, and merchandise from linen, religious icons, pottery, and even groceries were sold. The church sanctuary was open for tours, as well as prayer and candle lighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Of course, what Greek festival would be complete without delicious Greek cuisine? Attendees could enjoy gyros, souvlaki, baklava, and other traditional Greek delicacies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church of Winter Haven\u00a0opened its doors more than 40 years ago. Since then, it has hosted its annual Greek festival to allow its congregation to celebrate\u00a0its collective heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tina Thomas, parish council president, owes their success to their faith. Many residents of Greek descent reside in Polk County, so being able to have a place to call their own and share their traditions and culture is a real blessing, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been very difficult because we are a rural community here in Polk County, and people are determined to have a festival to help finance the church,\u201d she said. \u201cWe appreciate everyone\u2019s hard work. It has taken a community and beyond to make this a reality because it is a lot of hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hosting the festival takes months upon months of preparation. However, when all is said and done, the event brings together the whole community, allowing the congregation to share their traditions and culture with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI enjoy the wonderful Hellenism, Greek culture, and heritage,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cIt is not just baklava, we have a beautiful culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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St. Sophia of Winter Haven Celebrates Annual Greek Festival by James Coulter Cheers of \u201cOpa!\u201d sounded out loud for three days straight as locals proudly celebrated their Greek culture and heritage during the annual Greek Festival, hosted last weekend at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church of Winter Haven. For more than 40 years, St. Sophia\u2019s has hosted the annual […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":70618,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fast-factual-free"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winterhavendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/WinterHavenDaily-Trans-1.png?fit=400%2C240&ssl=1","aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t