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Houston's Original Greek Festival returns for 55th year with 3 days of food, dance, family fun, and shopping

The Original Greek Festival runs Thursday through Saturday.

Photos via Original Greek Festival/Instagram

One of Houston’s most beloved cultural celebrations is back for three days of food, dance, shopping, and family fun.

The Original Greek Festival returns this weekend, Thursday, October 6 through Saturday, October 8, at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral for an astounding 55th year.

More than 35,000 Houstonians are expected to pack the church’s complex to devour the famed and authentic, homemade Greek food, take in traditional dance performances, and — also a crowd favorite — lots of shopping.

Ahhh, baklava...

Arguably the biggest festival draw is the enormous food spread, all of which is prepared by Annunciation Greek Orthodox clergy members and much of coming from generations-long family recipes. Expect souvlaki (marinated seasoned beef cubes), tiropita (a triangular shaped cheese-filled puff pastry), spanakopita (tubular shaped spinach and cheese filled puff pastry), and dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with beef and rice).

Greek sweets include flaky baklava (nuts and spices layered in phyllo with honey syrup), kourambiedes (butter cookies with toasted almonds topped with powdered sugar), and loukoumades (hot honey puffs) made to order.

Authentic Greek beer Fix Hellas, imported Greek wine, and a variety of domestic beers will refresh those strolling the food offerings.

Song and dance

Visitors clamor to watch a variety of traditional Greek dance performances by groups of adults and children. Musician Alex Kalos — known as “The Golden Greek” — will perform, where fans can practice or learn Greek dance. Young fans can check out the children’s activities area, the Athenian Playground.

All about the agora

Shoppers, once full on food and properly refreshed, always stop by the festival shop (agora) to peruse the veritable feast of jewelry, clothing, cookbooks, icons, and religious items. Purists can find imported olive oil, popular Greek grocery store items, and even olive trees.

Keeping the faith

Fittingly for the venue, the festival offers cathedral tours, hosted by cathedral clergy who will explain the symbolism represented in the Byzantine style and the new hand-painted iconography in the cathedral.

Here’s a rundown of the festivities:

Thursday, October 6
5 pm – 10:30 pm
Dance program begins at 6 pm

Friday, October 7
11 am – 10:30 pm
Dance program begins at 6 pm

Saturday, October 8
11am – 10:30 pm
Children’s dance program begins at 11:30 am
Adult dance program begins at 5 pm

Festival tickets are $5 for adults, with children under 12 admitted free; free admission between 11 am-3 pm on Friday.

Fans can rest assured their money is going to a good cause: a portion of ticket proceeds benefit the Children’s Assessment Center, Harris County Sheriff's Office, S.E.A.R.C.H., the Covenant House, and more.

Consider this family fest a chance to celebrate Greek friends and neighbors, one of the biggest Greek communities in the U.S., and of course, a chance to scarf down all the souvlaki and baklava.

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The Original Greek Festival runs October 6-8 at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 3511 Yoakum Blvd. For more information, call 713-526-5377 or visit the official site.

In the spotlight

Houston reels in new rank among 10 best cities for filmmakers in 2026

Photo by Kyle Loftus on Unsplash

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Houston has just snapped up new recognition as the No. 10 best place to live and work as a filmmaker in North America, according to MovieMaker Magazine's annual report, "The Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2026."

The Bayou City has made improvements after ranking 12th in the magazine's 2025 list.

The annual list ranks the best cities in the U.S. and Canada for individuals to live while working in the film industry, based on production spending, tax incentives, cost of living, the prevalence of "local film scenes," and additional factors. The list is divided into two categories: 25 big cities and 10 smaller cities or towns.

The spotlighted cities are the places where the publication believes filmmakers "have the best chance of both succeeding in the famously difficult entertainment industry, and making [their] own art."

For up-and-coming filmmakers that want to live in Texas, MovieMaker says doing it in Houston is "more sustainable than ever" thanks to incentives like the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, which increased its production grant rebate from 22.5 percent to up to 31 percent for qualified in-state spending. The report also said Houston has an "arms-wide-open" approach for filmmakers.

"As the biggest city in Texas, and fourth biggest city in America, Houston has nearly every type of location, from cityscapes to piney woods to rolling hills to nearby farmland," the report said. "It’s close to Galveston Island and the Gulf of Mexico, and car commercials love the absence of billboard advertising."

MovieMaker also highlighted Houston's diversity, its low cost of living compared to the national average, and its local festivals like the Houston Cinema Arts Festival and Houston Latino Film Festival.

"The city has enough film crew for two to three sizable features, and recent shoots have included the thrillers Eleven Days, with Taylor Kitsch, and A Love, from director Courtney Glaude, Tyler Perry Studios’ executive creator of Scripted and Unscripted," the report said. "Houston is also notable for a strong contingent of films with budgets under $1 million."

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin ranked as the No. 5 best place to live and work as a filmmaker in North America. Dallas ranked seventh, while neighboring Fort Worth ranked 12th. San Antonio appeared as No. 14, and El Paso landed 25th on the list.

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