Yiasou Greek Festival

Start: Friday, September 5, 2025 11:00AM
End: Sunday, September 7, 2025 6:00PM

The Yiasou Greek Festival celebrates its 47th annual event on September 5, 6 and 7th. One of Charlotte’s most anticipated cultural events, it is hosted by the parishioners of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral and takes place on the church grounds of 600 East Blvd. The family friendly weekend features authentic Greek cuisine, homemade pastries, live traditional music, and dancing, as well as shopping and cultural exhibits. Honored as the 2023 “Silver Winner Best Annual Event/ Festival” voted upon by Charlotte’s Best and highlighted as one of Charlotte Agenda’s “Top 5 Fall Events,” the Yiasou Greek Festival is a Charlotte tradition. Vaki Karampourniotis, our parish council president, shares that, “We here at Holy Trinity, are excited to present the 47th annual Yiasou Greek Festival. This allows our beloved Cathedral to showcase its love and passion for our faith and culture.” Festival visitors can sample a variety of delicious Greek specialties, from souvlaki and spanakopites (spana-KOpeetes) to Greek pizzas and pastichio (pas-TEET-sio). Dessert is a must; patrons can try homemade koulourakia (koo-loo-RAHK-ya) (twisted butter cookies) and loukoumades (loo-koo-MA-thes), the popular honey drizzled doughnuts, or visit the kafenio tent for Greek coffee and frappe. A drive-thru is accessible and kid friendly menu options are available and can be viewed on our website Live entertainment is the heartbeat of the festival atmosphere and takes place on three stages. Dance performances are scheduled throughout the weekend, presented by members of Holy Trinity’s award-winning Folk-Dance Program, the largest such program in the Western Hemisphere. In addition to browsing a wide variety of specialty vendors selling everything from Greek art to clothing and imported groceries, festival patrons can also enjoy guided Greek wine tasting led by local experts. Younger patrons will enjoy the popular Children’s Playland with rides, face painting and concessions. Visitors who prefer to get away from the outside festival buzz can step into the historic Cathedral for a guided tour of its stunning Byzantine iconography and architecture, as well as a lecture on the history of Greeks in Charlotte. Built in 1954, the Cathedral is the vibrant center of the Holy Trinity community’s religious life Festival admission is $5. Children 12 and under are free when accompanied by a parent or guardian.