The annual St. Elias Mediterranean Festival is back, in person and ready to treat the community to delicious food, live entertainment and church tours of this historical gem on the North Side.

People of all ages and backgrounds are invited to this multicultural celebration from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 17, on the grounds of St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church, 716 Copeland Ave.

The festival is free to attend and includes live music and folk dancing, children's activities and a look at the exquisite iconography inside the church.

Dinner tickets are $20 for roasted lamb or grilled, marinated chicken kebab meals, and $15 for a falafel with tzatziki sauce meal. Each dinner also includes Syrian rice, Greek salad, stuffed grape leaves, pita and hummus.

The festival is known for its huge bake sale, featuring homemade delicacies from the Fertile Crescent, Mediterranean and Eastern Europe, reflecting the various ethnic backgrounds of the parishioners. The Syrian/Lebanese fried bread Zalaybee will be prepared hot and fresh on the grounds and then covered lightly with sugar and cinnamon. Beverages for sale include beer, soda and water.

Information on purchasing dinner tickets in advance is available here.  A limited number of dinner tickets also will be available for purchase on the grounds.  

The annual festival, which started as a community picnic and took the form of a drive-thru event in recent years due to COVID, is in its 48th year.