The Surrey Greek Food Festival is a free annual event that features Greek food, dancing, music and other entertainment in a giant outdoor tent facility.
Greek Food Festival
The festival takes place outside the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Surrey most years in June. In years when it isn’t cancelled due to pandemics, it attracts several thousand people over the course of the 10-day event.
Where and When
The Surrey Greek Food Festival takes place under giant canopied tents outside Surrey’s Greek Orthodox Church at 13181 96th Avenue.
In 2019 the Surrey Greek Food Festival celebrated its 28th year from Friday, June 7, until Sunday, June 16. Had it not been for COVID-19, the festival would have happened on similar dates in 2020.
The event usually runs from about 4 to 10 pm on weekdays and from noon until 10 pm on the Saturdays and Sundays. Scheduled entertainment begins between about one hour and two-and-a-half hours after opening each day.
What to Expect
The Surrey Greek Food Festival is a food festival, so expect it to be all about food. It’s a fundraiser for the church and community and it’s a fairly simple event, but lots of fun.
At the event everyone from the local Greek community comes out to volunteer in the kitchen, serve the meals and provide the entertainment, and hundreds of folk from the greater community come out to join them for the food, music and festive dancing.
The festival is really just a large outdoor restaurant – like something you might find at a beach resort in Greece perhaps. There are rows of tables, lots of people at prime times like on the weekends, plus music and the dancing. If you like Greek food, it’s a great venue, a fun place at busy times and all for a good cause.
There is no admission cost to the Surrey Greek Food Festival – you just pay for your food. Opa!
Greek Food Festival Menu
The menu at the festival usually includes chicken and pork souvlaki, pita wraps, beef gyros, lamb dinners, calamari, spanakopita, Greek salad, Greek coffee, Greek beer, and desserts like baklava and doughnut-like loukoumades.
Meals range from about $6 for a wrap up to $18 for a full lamb dinner, or, for big parties, you can even get a full BBQ lamb for $300. Desserts are tasty and cost between about $5 and $6.
Greek Festival Entertainment
At the Surrey Greek Food Festival there is typically a large stage with live entertainment and, between performances, lots of loud and festive Greek music.
On weekdays there are a couple of performances scheduled most evenings, including various dance groups and bands.
On the weekends there are additional performances, and between scheduled entertainment there are sometimes children or adult volunteers from the kitchen doing informal dances.
Performance Schedule
For an idea of what to expect in 2021, below is the entertainment schedule for the Surrey Greek Food Festival in 2019.
Friday, June 7, 2019
- 6:30 pm – Diaspora Fasolakia (Juniors)
- 7:00 pm – Diaspora Adults
- 7:30 pm – Diaspora Seniors
- 8:00 pm – Diaspora Adults
Saturday, June 8, 2019
- 1:30 pm – Diaspora Fasolakia (Juniors)
- 2:00 pm – Diaspora Seniors
- 2:30 pm – Serbian Small and Middle Group
- 3:00 pm – Asi Somos
- 4:00 pm – Diaspora Juniors/ Socrates Greek School
- 4:30 pm – Pareo – St. George
- 5:00 pm – Zephyros
- 5:30 pm – Tharros
- 6:30 pm – Diaspora Adults
- 7:00 pm – Diaspora Seniors
- 7:30 pm – Diaspora Adults
- 8:00 pm – Open Dancing for All
Sunday, June 9, 2019
- 1:30 pm – Rancho Folklorico de Cristo
- 3:00 pm – Diaspora Fasolakia (Juniors)
- 3:30 pm – Diaspora Seniors
- 4:00 pm – Opening Ceremonies
- 5:00 pm – Diaspora Adults
- 5:30 pm – Cretans
- 6:30 pm – Diaspora Fasolakia (Juniors & Seniors)
- 7:00 pm – Tharros
- 7:30 pm – Diaspora Adults
- 8:00 pm – Open Dancing for All
Monday, June 10, 2019
- 4:30 pm – Music by Alpha Video
- 8:00 pm – Open Dancing for All
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
- 4:30 pm – Music by Alpha Video
- 7:00 pm – Diaspora Adults
- 8:00 pm – Open Dancing for All
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
- 4:30 pm – Music by Alpha Video
- 8:00 pm – Open Dancing for All
Thursday, June 13, 2019
- 4:30 pm – Music by Alpha Video
- 7:00 pm – Diaspora Adults
- 8:00 pm – Open Dancing for All
Friday, June 14, 2019
- 4:30 pm – Music by Alpha Video
- 6:30 pm – Diaspora Fasokalia (Juniors)
- 7:00 pm – Diaspora Adults
- 7:30 pm – Diaspora Seniors
- 8:00 pm – Diaspora Adults
Saturday, June 15, 2019
- 1:00 pm – Diaspora Fasolakia (Juniors)
- 3:00 pm – Diaspora Juniors
- 4:00 pm – Diaspora Seniors
- 4:30 pm – Diaspora Adults
- 5:00 pm – Tharros
- 6:00 pm – Diaspora Fasolakia (Juniors & Seniors)
- 6:30 pm – Diaspora Adults
- 7:00-9:30 pm – Live music with Bouzouki of Yanis Sahamis
Sunday, June 16, 2019
- 1:00 pm – Saints Nicholas & Dimitrios Greek School Dancers
- 1:30 pm – Diaspora Fasolakia (Juniors)
- 2:30 pm – Diaspora Juniors
- 3:00 pm – Mexican Vivo Dance Group and Maria Hillmer
- 4:00 pm – Diaspora Seniors
- 4:30 pm – Singer Despina Gkioulis
- 5:00 pm – Anemos
- 5:30 pm – Zephryos
- 6:00 pm – Cretans
- 7:00 pm – Diaspora Adults
- 7:30 pm – Diaspora Seniors
- 8:00 pm – Diaspora Adults
- 9:00 pm – Closing Ceremonies
For a schedule of performance times, see the Festival Entertainment Schedule.
Festival Suggestions
Here are some tips on how to make the most out of your Surrey Greek Food Festival experience.
TIP #1: Plan to go when there’s live entertainment scheduled – it adds to the experience.
TIP #2: Go with a group of friends and try the Greek beer. The more the merrier! Be responsible, however, and don’t drink and drive! Also, take a healthy appetite. The food is great and that’s why people go.
TIP #3: The festival takes place outdoors in the parking lot of the church. Because there isn’t a lot of street parking right close by, be prepared to park on a side street and walk a little ways to the venue, especially if going at a busy time.
Other Information
The Surrey Greek Food Festival is one of a few different Greek festivals in the Lower Mainland. Fairly similar to the Surrey event is Vancouver’s Greek Summerfest in mid-July which takes place outside the St. Nicholas and Dimitrios Greek Orthodox Church at 4641 Boundary Road.
In late June is Greek Day on Broadway which is a giant street party that takes place on a Sunday in Kitsilano. If you like Greek food and entertainment, check them all out!
For more information on the 10-day event in June, check out the Surrey Greek Food Festival website.
For other types of festivals and major events at other times of the year, check out Vancouver’s Festivals and Events Calendar.
