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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
Salt Lake City's Greek Festival is a tradition that dates back more than 70 years. In 1935, the Mothers Organization, a charitable Greek women's society, sponsored an annual one-day bazaar in the basement of the Greek Orthodox Church in downtown Salt Lake City. It was a small event geared for church members and sold various items such as traditional Greek food and handicrafts.
The Mothers Organization, which later became the Holy Trinity Philoptochos Society, continued the one-day bazaar until 1975 when the Philoptochos and the Parish Council decided to join forces and expand the event to two days. They also opened it up to the public for the first time. Just a year later, the event grew again and a third day was added.
As the Greek Festival continued to grow, additional property was secured to provide more space for festival visitors. In 1992, the Parish Council approved the construction of a warehouse for festival preparations. The courtyard between the Cultural Center and the Holy Trinity Cathedral was also renovated to feature a fountain and benches. The Hellenic Cultural Association opened the Hellenic Museum in the basement of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, and it became the first Greek Museum in the United States.
Today, the four-day Salt Lake City Greek Festival boasts as many as 50,000 visitors and is the largest ethnic festival in the state. This year it will be held Sept. 4-7. Festival attendees can enjoy traditional Greek entertainment, jewelry, products from Greek vendors and, my favorite part—wonderful Greek cuisine. Be aware though that many people know about this excellent fare, so the food line can be rather long.
In preparation for the festival, I will be featuring Greek-owned businesses for the next several programs. Stay tuned to learn about these fine business owners who have persevered through the hard times to build successful companies.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
