Tag Archives: summer festivals erie pa

German Heritage Fest

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German Heritage Fest

Do you have German ancestry? Do you like German food? Do you enjoy having a beer or two with friends and family? If any of these apply to you, head on over to German Heritage Fest in Erie, PA and have yourself a fun filled afternoon! This festival in Erie, PA is put on by DANK Chapter 71 of Erie and Lake Erie Fanfare.

Location:

German Heritage Fest is held at St. Nick’s Grove, 5131 Old French Road, Erie, PA 16509.

Property Description:

This property is huge, and has several tents set up as well as picnic table seating. There is ample parking on the grass right next to the festival. Parking is free, but admission is not.

The cost to get into the festival is $5 per person, and children 12 and under are free. If you would like to attend the festival on both Saturday and Sunday (Sept 3 and 4, 2022), you can get a discount ticket for $8. The festival is open from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Please note that pets are not permitted at this festival unless they are service animals.

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What to Do:

There are many activities to enjoy at this festival in Erie, PA! First and foremost, let’s talk food! There are several places to grab a bite to eat, including Lake Erie Regiment, Viennese Cafe, Lombardo’s Concessions, Connie’s Ice Cream, Little Doug’s Kettle Corn, and Helmut’s Strudel. IF you head to the Lake Erie Regiment booth, you’ll find bratwurst, hot ham and cheese pretzel sandwiches, German potato salad, fries, and hot dogs. Helmut’s boasts various types of strudel including apple, cherry, cheese, apricot and almond, as well as spinach puffs and broccoli puffs. We tried the spinach and feta puffs, and they were absolutely delicious! We also had bratwurst, fries, and a braided pretzel stick with beer cheese.

We also enjoyed some beer, because it’s German Fest! We had a grapefruit beer and the Oktoberfest. There are several beer options to choose from, and price ranges from $4 to $5 per glass. In order to buy beer, you do have to get beer tickets first, so keep that in mind! The beer tickets are right next to the beer, making that quite convenient!

This is a family event, so there are plenty of activities to keep everyone busy! Balloon animals were made, faces were painted, and there were some swings toward the back of the festival grounds. Lemonade and funnel cakes were also available, and we may have gone through that line one or two times for our kiddos! There’s also a gift shop located in the main walkway of the festival, and it is under a tent. They have a lot of cool German clothes, hats, and other ethnic things, as well as dachshund socks and baltic amber jewelry! There’s also live music to enjoy, including The Mad Bavarian.

Another cool booth we came across was P.J.’s coins! If you like foreign currency, you’ll enjoy stopping by this booth to check out the different types of German currency. You can also grab a mystery envelope of coins for $2! We ended up getting 2 envelopes of mystery coins, and got coins from the Czech Republic, Jordan, Canada, Belgium, Newfoundland, France, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Netherlands, Japan, Great Britain (not a Euro), and a Euro. Stop by their booth for some fun, or visit their shop which is located right across the street from the fairgrounds at 5152 Old French Road, Erie, PA 16509. They are open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays. In talking to the people running the booth, we also found out that they sell Christmas trees, starting after Black Friday! So if you’re looking for a live tree, check out their selection this holiday season!

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Who Can Go:

Anyone can enjoy the German Heritage Fest! Handicap parking is available, and the festival is easily accessible when pushing a wheelchair or stroller.

Final Thoughts:

We really enjoyed the German Heritage Fest in Erie, PA! We ended up staying for about 3 hours, as we met up with family and enjoyed a few beers! We think this is one of those must attend summer festivals in the Erie area.

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Zabawa Polish Festival

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Zabawa Polish Festival

We’ve attended a lot of festivals in the Erie area, but this year we had our first experience at Zabawa Polish Festival! This year (2022) the festival runs from 5 p.m.-10 p.m. on August 26, 12 nnon-10 p.m. on August 27, and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on August 28. This festival has free admission and free parking! In order to get the free parking, you can park at a lot on 34th and Ash at St. Peter & Paul. From there, a shuttle will take you to the festival.

Our kiddos likened this to Disney World; taking a shuttle to an ethnic festival was kind of like taking the Disney bus from your resort to Epcot and entering through the World Showcase!

Location:

Zabawa is located at Holy Trinity Church, 2220 Reed Street, Erie, PA 16503.

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Property Description:

This festival in Erie, PA is put on in the parking lot and streets as well as inside of the social hall building itself.

Outdoors, you’ll find food tents, a bandstand, several tables set up to enjoy your food at, and merchandise.

Indoors, you’ll find more food, a bakery, the festival auction, and a 50/50 raffle.

Bathrooms are located inside the Social Center and outside at various Port-a-John locations.

What to Do:

One of the first things you need to know is that you will have to purchase tickets in order to get most of your food and drinks! The food ticket value is 50 cents per ticket.

These tickets can be purchased with cash only, but an ATM is provided in the social hall with a cash withdrawal fee of $3.50.

This festival is for the foodies! If you enjoy Polish food, you’ll find something wonderful to eat here! In the outside food tent, you can grab some potato pancakes or pierogies, as well as french fries, hot dogs, and popcorn. Inside the Polish Food Court, you’ll find bigos (sausage and cabbage), kielbasa wedzona, kielbasa biala, kiszka, golabki (stuffed cabbage rolls), rosol (chicken soup), czarnina (duck soup), kotlet mielone (pork pattie), gulasz (Polish goulash), zrazy (steak wrapped around sausage and a pickle), kapusta, and haluski. Food and drink prices range from 4 tickets ($2) to 26 tickets ($13).

You can also grab some pigs in a blanket at Golabki Express, located in the social center with a separate line from the other food inside!

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The Polish Bakery is also indoors, where you can purchase sweet breads, cookies, nut rolls, and more! Bakery prices are marked on the items, and know that both tickets and cash are accepted at the bakery!

If you’re looking for paczki, you’ll find those outside in front of the social center! You can get paczki, paczki sundaes, ice cream, pie, pr pie with ice cream! Next to the paczki, Presque Isle Wine Cellars is selling wine slushies for $8, as well as their delicious wines!

If beer is more of your thing, you can grab one at the beverage tent which is right across from the wine tent. Enjoy draft beers or twisted tea as well as a few Polish beers! You can get a Tyskie (which we tried, it’s a lighter beer), an Okocim/Zywiec/Karpackie (which is a bit darker), or the ZABAWA microbrew. Water and pop are also located within the beverage tent, and coffee is located inside.

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If you’re looking for some Polish merchandise, you will find that in the main festival tent which includes a lot of seating (for eating that delicious food), cd’s and tapes, Polish dolls, t-shirts, jewelry, and other really cool souvenirs. The main tent also includes a dance floor! The littles loved dancing to the live Polish music provided by the band on the mainstage!

Who Can Go:

Anyone can enjoy this festival in Erie, PA! Although it got quite crowded outside and inside at times, there is room to navigate a stroller or wheel chair. It does get fairly loud inside and outside at times, so be aware of that if you have anyone who is noise sensitive coming with you.

Final Thoughts:

We really enjoyed Zabawa Polish Festival! We were there at a fairly busy time on a Saturday night, so we spent about 3 hours exploring the festival, considering we waited in a pretty long line inside of the social hall. (We do recommend checking it out at a time that wouldn’t be considered lunch or dinner if you want a quicker line experience!) All in all, we think you should check this out; we’re glad we did and we are excited to go back next year (August 25, 26, and 27, 2023)!

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Panegyri Greek Festival

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Panegyri Greek Festival

There are several events that we look forward to every summer, and one of those events is the Greek Fest! We were so excited to see it back in full swing Friday night after 2 years after a very light version of its former glory.

Location:

The Panegyri Greek Festival is located at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 4376 Westlake Road, Erie, PA 16505. You really can’t miss it; you’ll notice the festival as you come from either direction on Westlake Road!

Property Description:

This event is set up in true “festival style;” tents with tables and chairs set up, many different stations to order food and drinks, and even a tent that serves as a boutique.

You are also able to go inside the Church to admire the beauty and into the social hall where you can get even more food and purchase gorgeous jewelry.

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What to Do:

The Greek Fest is full of fun for everyone! If you like to eat ethnic foods, this is a wonderful place for you to stop and grab a bite to eat. In the outdoor area of the festival, you will find many good choices including the every popular gyro, Greek dogs, Greek fries, and pastry trays, coffee, and beer in the Kafenio.

One thing to note immediately is that you do need to purchase tickets in order to get food and drinks. One ticket equals one dollar, and you can purchase these tickets (with cash only) indoors and outdoors at a few booths labeled Food Tickets. If you don’t have cash on you, they do provide ATMs for you to access cash.

One thing we feel is a must eat at the Greek Fest is the ever popular Gyro! We got three; two that were lamb and one that was vegetarian. We were happy to see that the kind people working were about to make dietary accommodations when you order your food! The gyros were absolutely delicious. This year the tzatziki sauce comes on the side, so you can choose to put the sauce on or dip your gyro. We also tried the Kafe Frappe, which is a foamy iced coffee, and it was so good that we had to get another!

We also encountered a fun, unexpected treat; snow cones! You can treat your kids (or yourself) to a cold, icy treat in a tent to the left of the stage! And don’t forget the Greek dogs, Greek fries, and beverages located in the same tent!

Outside, you’ll also find a boutique style shop filled with treasures for everyone. This shop is filled with anything from hot plates to flower crowns, dresses to rugs, and small toys to jewelry. Check it out and take home a small piece of Greece to remember the fun you had at the festival!

Another fun activity outside that we enjoyed was watching the Greek dancers! The dancers from the Church are there to perform various Greek dances that come from all around Greece. It’s really interesting to watch the different dance styles and how they change throughout the different regions. When the dancers aren’t performing, the Kakias Family Band is playing and providing Greek music for anyone to hop on the dance floor and enjoy some Greek dancing!

If you’re looking for a drink, outside in the Acropolis Bar they are serving soft drinks, beer, Greek beer, ouzo, wine, and water. They also have coffee, cherryade, ouzo, wine, and Greek beer in the Kafenio.

There are also many activities to enjoy inside of the Church building as well. One of our favorite things to do is look at the beautiful icons and paintings inside of the Church itself. You’ll be bewildered with the beauty of this Church. If you have any questions as you look around, parishioners are avaliable to give tours and talk to you about any questions you may have.

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In the Church social hall, the first thing you will see as you walk in from the main entrance is the jewelry booth. Here, you will find a lot of jewelry that comes straight from Greece, as well as a few pieces from Turkey and Istanbul. Everything is gorgeous, and you’ll see jewelry of all types. They have gold and silver, necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings; any type of jewelry you’re looking for you’ll probably find here! This is a must see for everyone, even if it’s just looking!

Also indoors is more food! You are able to purchase Greek dinners and a la carte to the right as you walk in. The dinners consist of fish, lamb, or chicken, and come with rice pilaf, green beans, a roll, and butter. In the a la carte line, you can get dishes such as moussaka, pastitsio, dolmades, spanikopita, and even a Greek salad. Our advice is to get there early, as the dinners have been known to sell out in previous years! (Keep reading!We have the menu at the end of this blog post!)

Let’s talk dessert! There are several pastries available inside to enjoy! If you’re a fan of walnuts, we highly suggest trying baklava! If chocolate is your thing, you’ll love the chocolate yogurt cake. They also have various types of cookies, cakes, and pastries to try. We promise, there’s a dessert for everyone to enjoy!

Who Can Go:

Anyone can enjoy the festival! From young to old, there’s something to enjoy for everyone! Strollers are welcome and we found it easy to push ours around.

Final Thoughts:

This festival is and always will be one of our favorites! This is a free admission event with free parking, which is absolutely wonderful! This year (2022) it runs from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9. There’s a ton of food, and in our opinion even the pickiest eater should be able to find something delicious! We also love how much entertainment it provides, the littles were thrilled and had a great time! All in all, we believe this is a great event and fun for the whole family! Check it out! Oh, and check out the menu below before you go!

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