return
to life in sf
It was about 85 degrees when I stepped off BART at the
Orinda station. It was a perfect Saturday to spend outside
in the sun. Eric was waiting in the parking lot for me
to walk off the escalator and into his truck. I hopped
in and we were on our way to Oakland for the Festival
of Greece. I had heard about it all week at work. "You
have to try the food," "It's the biggest Greek
festival in the bay area." "The Greek beer is
the best." So I passed on all the hype to Eric. We
didn't really know what to expect. We found our way to
the 13 and arrived at the Lincoln Avenue exit. Signs for
parking greeted us upon exiting the freeway and we followed
the arrows, but every lot was full. Eventually, we found
a perfect spot in the shade, only it was way downhill.
A long trek uphill awaited us, but so did a shuttle. We
opted for the latter. The five bucks to get in was taken
care of by Ekona, so Eric and I got our weekend passes
and merged into the sea of revelers. The music was loud
and lively. A large primitive windmill stood festively
in the courtyard of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the
Ascension. The church was built in 1960 on a hill that
overlooks Oakland all the way to San Francisco. The church
sits on its site as prominently as the hill it sits on.
The dome is shallow, symbolic of the humility one must
experience before God. Inside, the ceiling is gold anodized
aluminum. Iconography is painted all over the place, including
a forty-foot wide image of Jesus on the ceiling. It is
supposedly the largest image of Jesus' head in the United
States. Eric and I were impressed with the church, but
a festival awaited us outside, and the music was even
audible inside the church. We made our way back outside
and followed the crowd. Most of the festival goers seemed
to be heading behind the cathedral, so that is where we
headed also. We were just in time, because a plethora
of kids were all dressed up in Greek garb and were about
to put on a show for us all. They all made a curved line
and the music began. They all moved slowly and, to my
surprise, gracefully around the courtyard, while the attentive
crowd clapped in celebration and threw money in typical
Greek fashion. It was humorous to watch them all scramble
for the coins and bills as soon as the music stopped.
Then it was another group's turn to woo the crowd and
earn a buck. After sitting in the sun for so long, we
needed a cold beverage while we watched a little more
Greek entertainment. We found a booth that sold lemonade,
so we each grabbed one for a token and went back to the
festivities. There was a lot more to see, so we checked
out the market area set up inside the church. There were
many jewelry shops and little knick-knacks. The kind of
stuff Mom would love. I saw a few paintings that I thought
were really cool. We didn't spend much time there before
we wanted to eat all the food. There was so much to choose
from. The first booth we went to was actually a desert.
It was a pastry that was deep fried and covered in honey,
then sprinkled with crushed nuts. It was called "loukoumades."
Don't ask me how to pronounce it. The rest of the afternoon
was spent walking around the grounds of the church in
search of more food. While we were munching on the loukoumades,
we each got a gyro (pronounced "yee'-ro"). Just
like zero. It was flat bread wrapped around lamb, onions,
bell pepper and tzatziki, a cucumber sauce. I've had it
before, but this was extra special. You know, because
of the whole Greek festival thing. I wanted to get a t-shirt,
but I resisted. I entered a raffle to win a ton of money.
But I already won Giants tickets this year, so the odds
are against me to win another thing this year. I kept
seeing people with meat on a stick. I was covetous, so
I looked all over for that booth. It took me all day,
but I found it. Eric got a Greek beer, and we watched
a professional chef cook up something using phillo dough,
spinach, dill and other stuff which she rolled together
and fried up. I like to refer to her as Martha Stewartokoupoulos.
I don't know her real name. So it was good to get more
in tune with my Greek roots. I think it was Eric's first
exposure to Greek culture. It was a good place to be today
and as corny as it may sound, it made me feel really proud
to have the blood I have. After the festival, Eric and
I went to downtown Berkeley, to experience some culture
of a different kind. That culture smelled funny.
-simon pollard
