WORCESTER, Mass. - The Saint Spyridon Grecian Festival is returning next weekend after being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The festival features Greek food and pastries, dancing and performances, as well as cathedral tours and a Greek marketplace.

This year will be presiding priest Father Christopher Stamas' first festival in Worcester, but said he has been taking part in festivals since the 1970's. Stamas said the Worcester festival was the first in New England and has a long history of 46 years, which he said draws big crowds each year. 

"Greek things have a universal appeal," Stamas said. "We live in a western civilization and all of that really came from Greece. I mean, I think we all know the history of the ancient Greeks and those kind of traditions and those customs and kind of the way we do things really have a universal appeal no matter who it is."

The festival will run September 16-18.