NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. — As we close out the week on Most Buffalo, we are taking you to North Tonawanda where Egyptian culture is on display for all to enjoy this weekend.
"It's our opportunity to share our Coptic Orthodox faith with the community here in various ways, whether that's a church exhibition, or as many people love, it is the food, as well," said Thomas Gadelrab, festival volunteer.
The 15th annual Egyptian Festival is underway at the St. Mary & St. Moses Coptic Orthodox Church in North Tonawanda. On Friday morning, we caught up with festival volunteer Thomas Gadelrab.
"We have many different Christian artifacts, some of them are handmade in Egypt that we bring back. And, we bring pharaonic gifts straight from Egypt as well, so you'll find, you know, little pyramids or sphinxes and things like that, and that's for us to of course represent and honor the heritage of our country of Egypt, while at the same time showcasing the Christian aspect," said Thomas Gadelrab. "Many people may not realize that we actually hold this festival in honor of St. Mary, so her Feast of the Assumption is August 22nd, and we always do this the weekend after that."
You can tour the church, which by the way, was started by just three or four local families.
"It's a labor of love. We are, you know, a hundred, 120 people just putting our all in volunteering into this. You know, sometimes people don't realize that we don't really have any vendors. It's all, almost every single thing you see, or taste, or see here is done by us," said Thomas Gadelrab.
The festival is a fundraiser, and the money goes right back to the church to pay for things like renovations and new woodwork. A lot of what you'll find inside was handmade in Egypt and brought here.
"Fifteen years in, we try to keep it fresh every single year. Some of the stuff that you see behind me was actually handmade by our own priest. In terms of the hand carvings, again brought in from Egypt, and then stained by his hand, and then made sure that it is presentable so that we can sell. Beyond that, a lot of other things are, we try to source as much as we can directly from Egypt rather than other places." said Thomas Gadelrab.
The festival's food is also a big draw.
"I know there's a lot of festivals going on this weekend, but I don't think you're truly going to find flavors that you'll find here. I maybe am biased, but I say it's the best food you'll find at any festival," said Thomas Gadelrab.
With the grilled chicken being the crowd favorite. The recipe is a secret.
"Our head chef, Peter, just came back from Egypt. He's constantly trying to perfect and fine-tune the flavor profile he has on this chicken here where someone may look at it and be, like, oh chicken thighs, I can do that, but until you try it, you'll realize that it is much more than just slapping some chicken on a grill. The spice blend that he perfected is truly unparalleled," said Thomas Gadelrab.
The festival runs until 9 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, you can check it out from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. On Sunday, the festival is open from noon to 8 p.m.