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Organizers of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church’s Dayton Greek Festival and Sons of Italy John Pirelli Lodge’s Italian Fall Festa worked curbside pick-up services in response to the weather, and festival fans came in droves.
Credit: Italian Fall Festa
Credit: Italian Fall Festa
"We had hundreds and hundreds of cars going through," said Brian Andzik, a spokesman for Fall Festa. "It was amazing."
He continued, “It also shows that the community was actually giving us something back. They wanted to help us.”
Debra Pulos, a recent Daytonian of the Week and the public relations coordinator for the church's fundraiser, said the curbside pick-up was also successful for the Greek Festival, but not all of the food was sold.
Church members and supporters began preparing trays upon trays of food for the festival months head.
Volunteers began selling take home and bake food by bulk on Sunday.
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"The bulk sale of food was very successful (Sunday) and many of the food items are sold out. We still have a few pans of moussaka, gyro meat, tzatziki sauce, pita bread and some pastries," she told this new organization via email.
Those interested can call 937-224-0601 to inquire.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
The 33rd annual Beavercreek Popcorn Festival was forced to close earlier due to the weather Saturday.
Organizer Nancy Hadley said she is hoping vendors at the festival are able to use products at other upcoming events.
“Popcorn they popped up, you can’t save it,” she said.
Anticipating bad weather, Fall Festa organizers made less food than prior years, so those leftovers wouldn’t go to waste.
“We’ve already made some donations (to nonprofits) and are working on some others,” Andzik said.
Money raised by Fall Festa is used to cover the expense of maintaining the lodge’s hall and grounds and for scholarships.
The loss in revenues due to the weather is significant even with the community’s support, he said, noting more efforts will be put into other upcoming fundraisers.
“The gap between a really good year and a very bad year is very large,” he said.
Credit: Italian Fall Festa
Credit: Italian Fall Festa
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