Troy community prepares for 31st annual OPA!Fest

TROY — The 2024 OPA!Fest invites community members to experience different aspects of Greek culture at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 760 W. Wattles Road in Troy.

This is considered the largest Greek festival in metro Detroit, and it celebrates around 4,500 years of food, culture and history. Festival events will run 4-11 p.m. Friday, June 21, and Saturday, June 22, and noon-8 p.m. Sunday, June 23.

Attendees can enjoy church tours, live cooking demonstrations, a marketplace, presentations on Greek culture and religion, traditional folk dance performances, live performances from the band Oneiro, games and activities in the kids area, and raffles and prizes throughout the festival. An “Iron Chef” competition will be held at 8 p.m. on Saturday, and another cooking competition will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Some of the food options guests can expect includes a lamb shank platter, gyros (seasoned lamb and beef, thin-sliced from a vertical rotisserie), souvlakia (chicken kebobs), dolmathes (wrapped grape leaves), keftethes (Greek meatballs), pastitsio (layered pasta, ground sirloin and cheese, topped with creamy béchamel sauce), and lamb sliders. There are also different pastry options, like baklava, kourambiethes, fenekia, koulourakia, sesame cookies and paximadia, as well as Greek coffee, cold frappé and loukoumades options.

Attendees may park at Boulan Park, 3671 Crooks Road, and take a free shuttle. Disability parking on the premises is subject to availability.

Admission costs $3 per person or a donation of three canned food products per person for Gleaners Community Food Bank, or $10 per family, with children under the age of 12 getting in for free.