Photo courtesy Anthony Bolus.
Volunteers prepare homemade food for the annual Lebanese Food and Cultural Festival at St. Elias Maronite Catholic Church in Birmingham.
St. Elias Maronite Catholic Church will host its 21st annual Lebanese Food and Cultural Festival — a huge event with more than 300 volunteers and an average of 8,500 attendees — on Friday, April 26, and Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
And the food at the festival is completely “authentic,” according to organizer Anthony Bolus. “It’s hard to find homemade cuisines out there that have a grandmother’s touch,” he said.
That cuisine, available for dine in or take out, includes falafel, tabouleh, baked kibbee, spinach pies and grilled lemon chicken, plus Lebanese desserts. There’s also a silent auction, church tours, traditional dancing by church youth and a live Lebanese band, Amin Sultan from New York.
“We want people to come see what our food, heritage and culture are all about,” Bolus said.
A quarter of proceeds go to local and national charities, and the event has raised $509,000 since it began in 1999, according to Bolus. The Cedar 5K and a 1-mile fun run and walk Saturday will benefit The Exceptional Foundation in Homewood. To register, go to cedarrun5k.com.
Festival admission is free. For details, including parking, a menu and pricing, go to stelias.org.
