Feasts and Festivals of Fall

Winter has already started dumping snow in Colorado since two weeks ago, but memories of the festivals of fall still lingers. Remembering the joyful times – before last month’s floods unhinged homes and lives in the Rocky Mountains – is calming, inspiring us to rebuild and heal in place.

There was this glorious Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highlands Festival held at Estes Park on September 5-7. I was completely unaware about this annual event until a couple of seniors who were taking a tour of our facility mentioned it. They were in the area, staying at a friend’s cottage for the festival, and thought it won’t hurt to learn about cement. I love Tattoos with band members in kilts, marching around, not with assault rifles but with drums, bugles, and bagpipes, uplifting souls with martial tunes.

On a Friday night, on our way to the Annual Farm Party Fundraiser of the Global Education Fund, my husband and I chanced upon the Greek Festival being held at the Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church compound off Jay Road in Boulder. I almost didn’t make it to the fundraiser; my instinct was to get off the car, join the dancing, and partake of that roasted lamb infused with rosemary. Then reason prevailed. We returned the next day for our Greek fix.

On the menu: Lamb Shank Combo, braised & marinated leg of lamb on the bone, served with spanakopita and a Greek salad. (Photo from http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2009/10/lamb_shank_niko_nikos.php.)

A Taste of Orthodoxy, as this event was billed, is a distillation of various cultures brought together by their common faith. Multi-generations of Americans with roots from Greece, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine, among other nations, make this event a delightful cultural feast of songs, dances, visual arts, and cuisine. The warmth and energy of this robust community made me feel at home; it’s like going to the An Taclobanon Association of Southern California fiesta.