Mahrajan Saints Day Festival Saint Elias Middle Eastern Cultural Festival
The 2010 Festival is Friday, July 16 thru Sunday, July 18
The festival is held the third week of July commemorating Saint Elias, the Patron Saint of our church. It originated in 1937, becoming a social event of the year for the Arabic speaking community of Syracuse and Central New York.
As time went on, it was opened to the community and became an annual event. It was a way to share our culture and food with all our neighbors and friends.
The church grounds turn into a haven of delicious foods prepared by our ladies and served under the huge tents. Shish kabob, grape leaves, spinach pies, and hummus are only a few of the foods that can be purchased and we can't forget the delicate pastries and Arabic coffee. All of this is surrounded by the live Arabic music and the lively dances of our youth groups and our little children (Who I must say are one of our biggest attractions).
The church hall is set up as a souk (Marketplace) where you can purchase homemade Arabic pastries, religious items, Middle Eastern giftware, 18 karat gold jewelry, oriental rugs, and most of all our cookbook that was compiled by the ladies of our church. The recipes came from many of our mothers, sisters and most of all our grandparents.
Our Pastor conducts church tours, showing the beauty of our church and explaining the meaning of many things to our interested guests. The climax of the weekend is the raffle of a Stickley rocking chair valued at $1,600, along with other great prizes.
