28th Annual Greek Festival in Ocean City

The annual Ocean City Greek Festival is back for it’s 28th year.

This year, just like the 27 before, the festival is drawing in a loyal crowd eager to enjoy all that the festival has to offer.

Yanna Esparza, a member of the Saint George Church, said, “We were here for 20 years every weekend.”

Volunteers told 47ABC that food is one of the main attractions at the event. They said this is because Greek food is hard to find on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

“It’s hard to find these kinds of foods around here. In New York, okay. In Baltimore, you have Greek restaurants. Here, you really don’t,” said festival coordinator, Alexandra Hall.

In addition to the food, live Greek music is being provided all weekend, allowing people to dance the night away and have fun.

“We gather here and see our friends that come from all over, and we dance, and have fun and eat good food,” Esparza said.

The festival has another purpose. Hall said, “Well the Greek festival for little Saint George Orthodox Church in Ocean City is the lifeblood of keeping the church functioning.”

The festival is run by volunteers from the local Greek Orthodox Church. Proceeds made will be going towards the church. “It’s an important fundraiser for our little church,” Hall said.

Every year, the church hosts a unique raffle where a lucky participant can win up to $10,000.

“The raffle is the best odds in town. One in 200 chance to win up to ten grand. So we only have 200 tickets and they sell for $100 dollars. Last year, I sold the winning ticket for the big one! I was so happy,” Hall said.

Coordinators hope the raffle will attract more visitors to their annual Greek Festival.

The annual event takes place the last weekend of July because in August, Greek church members begin a strict fast.

This years festival will last four days, running through Monday.