St. George Orthodox Church’s Middle Eastern Festival celebrates many aspects of Arab cultural traditions — faith, food, music, heritage and hospitality.
The church was founded in 1926 by Arab immigrants and Arabs continue to make up a good portion of the congregation. This year marks the church’s 27th annual Middle Eastern Festival, set for Sept. 20-22 at 10748 E 116th St. in Fishers.
Riyad Bannourah is one of the festival organizers. He said the most important thing festival attendees can expect is hospitality — a key ingredient in Arab culture — and part of that tradition of hospitality is making sure guests have plenty to eat.
“We just finished the menu last night — we’re going to have seven booths of food,” he said. “We have the grills, which is the chicken shawarma and the kafta. And we have meat lovers this year — we added the meat lovers that you can have chicken shawarma, falafel, gyros or kafta as part of the plate. Then this year we have a special dish — we call it the St. George special. And the St. George special is going to be gyros on French fries.”
Shawarma is marinated chicken served in a pita with pickles and a creamy garlic sauce; kafta, is ground beef mixed with parsley, onions and spices, served in a pita. The booths also will offer the popular lamb shanks, falafel and stuffed grape leaves, along with honey balls — fried dough served with sweet toppings.
Tips traditionally are donated to local nonprofit organizations, and this year they will go to Fishers Youth Assistance Program.
Bannourah’s wife, Hala Bannourah, is one of the festival’s many cooks. She said various people specialize in certain dishes and she’s one of several in charge of grape leaf production, which requires skill, time and patience. Hala Bannourah said another church member, Abla Khoury, takes over the kitchen with her family each year to make the rice mixture.
“And then I am on the outside where I roll the grape leaves,” Hala Bannourah said. “Whoever shows up (who) doesn’t know how to roll the grape leaf, I just show them and teach them. You don’t have to know how to do it — we will teach you on the spot.”
Hala Bannourah said she grew up watching her mother cook, which is how she learned various techniques, including the proper method for rolling a stuffed grape leaf.
In addition to the food booths set up outside, the festival offers a variety of desserts for sale in the church’s basement. Hala Bannourah said she and other church members will spend several weekends preparing the sweets, which will include a couple of different Middle Eastern cookies; katayef — a pancake filled with a nut mixture and soaked in syrup; and kanafeh — cheese topped with pastry and syrup. Baklava in various forms also will be available, ordered from a bakery in Detroit.
Dancing is one way to burn off some of the calories consumed during the festival. Tanya Bannourah — Riyad and Hala’s daughter — teaches Middle Eastern dance classes for 6- to 8-year-olds. She said her students will perform bellydance routines — modest, of course — followed by 10- and 11-year-olds who will perform bellydance and dabke, and then 12- and 13-year-olds who will dance the dabke.
She said this is her second-year teaching dance, but she’s been involved for much longer.
“I grew up dancing in the festival,” Tanya Bannourah said. “Every year, I would volunteer and then, as teenagers, me and my sister, we choreographed our own dance and did our own routine.”
Mawtini Dabke Troupe, a group from Detroit, also will dance the dabke, a traditional line dance customarily performed during weddings and other celebrations. Festival attendees will be invited to join in the dancing.
Admission to the festival is free. In addition to food and dancing, there will be music by Cleveland-based singer David Hakim, a kid zone with games and opportunities to tour the church. For a schedule of events, visit stgindy.org/st-george-festival.
IF YOU GO
What: St. George Orthodox Church Middle Eastern Festival
When: 5 to 10 p.m. Sept. 20; noon to 10 p.m. Sept. 21; 1 to 5 p.m. Sept. 22
Where: 10748 E 116th St. in Fishers
How: Park at Hoosier Road Elementary School, 11300 E. 121st St., and take the shuttle. ADA parking is available at the church. There is a $5 fee for parking.
