While the festival began at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, since the mid-1970s the festivities have been held at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church on residential Davis Street, making it truly a neighborhood celebration.

The church, which organizes the festival, prepares all of the food in-house beginning in early May, with teams of parishioners baking for days at a time the pastries for which Greece is famous: baklava, layers of buttered phyllo pastry filled with nuts and drizzled with a sweet syrup, and galaktobouriko, a light egg custard wrapped in buttered phyllo pastry and topped with honey, as well as Greek Christmas treats such as melomakarona, a honey cookie, and kourambiedes, almond shortcakes dusted with confectioner's sugar. The traditional Greek "Easter cookie" koulourakia will also be available in its many fanciful shapes.

Throughout the weekend festival-goers can also partake of freshly made gyros—pita bread stuffed with lamb and beef, tomatoes, onions and tzatziki, a garlicky yogurt sauce with finely minced cucumbers. Similar to a gyro, souvlaki—"the hamburger of Greece" before McDonald's came along—presents skewered meat in a pita with tomatoes, onions and tzatziki. Loukaniko, a Greek sausage made with red wine, as well as roasted leg of lamb, are sure to satisfy the heartiest of appetites, and of course no Greek festival would be complete without dolmades: ground beef, seasoned rice, dill and onions wrapped in grape leaves. Moussaka, a Greek lasagna, and its cousin, pastichio, which substitutes eggplant for pasta, will be served as well.

To accompany all of the delicacies, retsina, a traditional Greek white wine flavored with pine resin, will be served in addition to a variety of other Greek and American wines and beers, as well as ouso—a licorice-flavored apertif—and Metaxa, a rare Greek brandy. For those who prefer to stay a little more clear-headed, soft drinks, juice and coffee will be available.

But while the cuisine may be the centerpiece of the festival—"people would kill for the food," says Moustakas—the event places equal importance on exposing guests to other aspects of Greek culture. Booths will feature jewelry, dresses, ceramics and paintings, and tours of the church will be held throughout the weekend.

Exhibitions of traditional Greek folk dancing will be held almost hourly, with members of St. Nicholas' award-winning dance troupes performing in the main tent. Between the performances the band The Mythos Group will perform, with the public invited to dance.

According to Moustakas, the festival was born not only out of a desire to raise funds for the ever-growing church but to share Greek culture with those from other backgrounds and faiths. In a language where "stranger," "guest" and "host" are one word—xenos—the tenant of extending hospitality to the larger community is "sacred," says Moustakas. "There is a great spirit, a great camaraderie, a great pride in sharing our culture with the rest of the world."

And as guests, those who come to the festival should be prepared to stay awhile and "be Greek for a day," in keeping with the theme of the celebration, especially as the sun goes down and attentions turn to the dance floor.

It's nearly impossible not to get caught up in the music, says event coordinator Elias Psycharis. "We like to dance all night."

The San Jose Greek Festival will be held Friday, May 30, 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, May 31, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, June 1, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The event will take place at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 1260 Davis St. in San Jose, with free parking and shuttle at 1900, 1960 and 2021 The Alameda. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and students; children under 12 are admitted free. For more information, call 408.246.2770 or visit www.saintnicholas.org.