More Than a Festival
The Long Beach Greek Festival has been bringing people together for over 75 years.
The Church
The Long Beach Greek Festival is proudly presented by Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, a cornerstone of the Long Beach community since 1949. Located at 5761 E. Colorado Street, the church offers guided and self-guided tours all festival weekend, with a chance to experience Byzantine art and Orthodox architecture firsthand. Learn more about the parish and its year-round programs.
The festival is Assumption Church's primary annual fundraiser, supporting the parish and the community it has served for more than seventy-five years. But it has always been about more than money. Greeks have a word for it: philoxenia, a deep and sacred hospitality that translates, literally, as love of the stranger. It's why the gates opened to everyone from the very first year. Come in, eat something, let us show you who we are. Greek heritage or plain curiosity, you belong here.
The Festival Was Born With the Church
Greek Orthodox families settled in Long Beach and neighboring San Pedro in the early 1900s. As the community grew, so did the need for a church of their own. In 1937 the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America granted a charter to build one. Fundraising took ten years. Ground broke in 1947 at 1643 Pacific Avenue, and on August 15, 1949, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the doors opened and Fr. Nicholas Billiris was assigned as the parish's first priest. That same day, after the liturgy, the community threw a festival. It has happened every year since.
A Festival That Outgrew Its Own Backyard
For decades the festival filled the church grounds on Pacific Avenue, drawing Greek Orthodox families from across Southern California and neighbors from every corner of Long Beach. Eventually the crowds outgrew the block. The festival moved indoors to the Long Beach Convention Center, then outdoors to Rainbow Lagoon Park, three days over Labor Day weekend. The parish was growing too. Parishioners voted to relocate in 1986, and on December 1, 1991, the current Assumption Church opened at 5761 East Colorado Street. The festival followed it home, and it's been here ever since.