(PISCATAWAY, NJ) -- The 51st Annual St. George Greek Festival returns May 16-19, 2024. This Central Jersey tradition kicks-off New Jersey's "Greek Festival Season" lasting from May until October at Greek churches throughout the State. St. George, Piscataway Festival is synonymous with "philotimo" the Greek ideal of welcoming EVERYONE to explore Greek culture through homemade food, good music, traditional dancing and cultural tours.

Attracting upwards of 15,000 patrons annually to celebrate all things Greek, the 51st Annual Festival will not disappoint. The hours are: Thursday, May 16 from 4:00pm–9:00pm; Friday, May 17 from 11:00am–11:00pm; Saturday, May 18 from 11:00am-12am/midnight and Sunday, May 19 from 12:00pm–8:00pm. 

Each year, the parish of St. George, Piscataway, works together to host the Festival and bring its well-known "Greek Hospitality" to the community.  The event is currently a staple in Piscataway Township and Middlesex County, and is one of the largest and well-attended Greek Festivals in the state of New Jersey. This Central Jersey tradition is known for its warm hospitality, enthusiastic volunteers and delicious homemade Greek foods and pastries. These recipes have been passed down for several generations within the community, and are a testament to the connection they have to their Greek heritage.

Food & Entertainment: Volunteers have been busy preparing various Greek delicacies like pastitsio, moussaka, dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), tiropites (cheese pie), spanakopites (spinach pie), baklava, koulourakia (butter cookies) and melomakarona (honey walnut cookies), just to name a few. Everyone's favorites, like souvlakia, gyros and loukoumades (honey puffs) will be returning to the outdoor Taverna, as well as octopus, Greek fries and loukaniko (sausage). In the indoor dining area, meals like roast chicken Athenian, sliced lamb and the mezedaki platter can be found. There are also plenty of vegetarian options for those who need them. Entertainment includes our award-winning Greek folk dance groups as well as live traditional music. 

Cut the lines, order online! Order ahead with timed pick-up to take food home or enjoy on the Festival grounds via their website.

History: The first “NJ’s Best Greek Fest” took place in 1974. It began as a fundraiser to raise money to add air conditioning to the church. Using the time and talents of our Greek-immigrant parishioners, volunteers baked pastries at home, our local chefs, cooked and grilled the Greek delicacies that have become well-known on-site during Festival Weekend, and our Youth presented Greek Folk dances to live music. As the largest Greek community in central Jersey with over 800 families, St. George Greek Orthodox Church continues this cultural tradition each year, and attracts over 15,000 attendees throughout Festival weekend to experience our legendary hospitality, “kefi” (positive energy) and of course homemade Greek food.

A 501 (c)3 non-profit, St. George Greek Orthodox church was founded in 1916, to tend to the spiritual needs of the New Brunswick-area Greek community. It also serves to sustain and perpetuate the Greek culture through its youth programming, Greek language and religion classes, its Annual Festival, and traditional Greek folk dancing program, as well as support community involvement through its many organizations such as the Philoptochos-St. Barbara Chapter, PTO, Senior Citizens, Cretans Fraternity, St. George Knitting Group and chapters of the American Hellenic Education Progressive Association (AHEPA) and Daughters of Penelope.