WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - Holy Virgin Mary Antiochian Church, located at 3060 Jefferson Blvd. held their 18^th annual Mediterranean Food and Music Festival on Saturday, September 17^th. With only a $3 admission, people arrived in droves. The festival ran from 11am until 10pm with live music and great food being served up the entire time.

During the daytime the bands changed about every hour and included live performances from the River City High School Big Band, Syncopating Sea Monkeys, Church Tour and Byzantine Concert and Janho Brothers. Later in the day vocalist Gabriella Baba flew in special for performing at the festival. Followed by more music from the Janho Brothers.

The food at the festival was all freshly made and featured dishes such as chicken or lamb with Mediterranean flavor, hummus, rice and salad. There was gyros, falafel and chicken sandwiches. In addition, there was grape leaves, spinach, kubbeh and vegetarian dishes. There was Mediterranean desserts, soda along with beer or wine. For the kids there were bounce houses and a petting zoo.

The set up booths included a henna tattoo booth, Designer Nopal – a variety of succulent arrangements that were planted in a wide range of sculptures and vases, arranged by Frances Luna. There was also a fundraising table with handmade beeswax candles and a CERT display.

As advertised, the primary focus was on food and music, but it was definitely the place to be if you wanted to run into friends. Some people just came and got food to go, but quite a lot of people stayed for the great music and conversation. If you missed the festival this year, you are encouraged to try to make it in years to come.

The Holy Virgin Mary Antiochian Church has a couple of events coming up. Tarab Night will be on November 5, 2022, and their 12^th annual crab feed will be held January 21, 2023. For more information on future events, check them out on the Mediterranean Food & Music Festival Facebook page.

Jean Baba, member of the church and contributor to the festival, made some mention about the contributions made:

“A portion of the proceeds from admissions is used to give back to the local River City High School Music Bands. Throughout the year Holy Virgin Mary Church also supports various Nonprofit groups such as the Downtown Streets Team, The Mercy Coalition, Fill the Bag and YCCA to name a few.

During the pandemic, the congregation offered curbside to go dinners to get them through the mandated church closures. By the generosity and support from the community, Holy Virgin Mary Church was able to continue with their philanthropy and local support to the community.

When the power was lost to over 1,500 residents in the State Streets and Bryte/Broderick areas, the church was called and asked to provide hot meals for those who lost power. We served over 500 residents alongside the Yolo Food Bank.”