A tradition for 87 years and counting in Wichita, the St. Mary’s Mediterranean Festival celebrates the culture, heritage, and food that the church’s founders brought with them when they came to the United States.
This year’s Mediterranean Festival in Wichita will be a two-day event, beginning with a Friday night “Hafli” – a party with food, fun, music and dancing. They’ll have a DJ curating ethnic music while guests join together for traditional “dubke” dancing. (They say the dance is easy to learn and fun for all ages!)
They’ll also be serving a variety of Mediterranean food, wine, and beer during the Friday night Hafli.
Then on Saturday, the second day of the festival, they’ll offer a large a la carte menu of dishes from Lebanon, Syria, and Greece. You can purchase lunch or dinner and either dine inside, outside under their covered tent, or take your food to go.
Saturday’s activities will include church tours, Byzantine art demonstrations, ethnic dancing, balloon twisting, and the Vespers evening church service.
A Mediterranean Marketplace will also be set up on Saturday where you can find a variety of baked goods from Mediterranean countries, and try samples of rich Turkish coffee. Many items for sale at the marketplace can’t be found anywhere else in Wichita.
The St. Mary’s Mediterranean Festival has FREE admission for everyone. You’ll just want to budget for food and shopping. According to the website, they accept cash, check, and credit cards.
A portion of the proceeds from the festival each year go to support a local charity. This year’s charity is the Wichita Family Crisis Center, formerly known as the Women’s Crisis Center, which provides emergency housing services free of charge for individuals who are fleeing domestic violence, are at risk of being abused, or are homeless due to domestic violence.
Friday night’s Hafli is from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday the festival hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Wichita St. Mary’s Mediterranean Festival
Date: May 17 and 18, 2019
Time: Times TBA for 2019; last year the times were 6-10 p.m. on Friday; 11 – 7 p.m. on Saturday
Location: St. Mary Orthodox Christian Church, 344 S Martinson St, Wichita, Kansas 67213
Cost: FREE admission; bring money for food and shopping
For more information and for updates, visit either the St. Mary’s Wichita website or the festival event page on Facebook.
More Annual Wichita Festivals and Events
