2012 Camarillo Greek Festival: Photos and extended coverage.

 

Top:  A costumed team sets out on the mud run.

2nd:  Running through the mud.

3rd:  A refrigerator sports festival stickers dating back to 1999.

4th:  Artist's conception of the new St. Demetrios.

5th:  The current church as it stands today.

Bottom:  Dancers start to pack the floor as The Olympians dig in.

All of the above pictures were taken on Saturday, the second day of the festival.  It began with a tie-in event, a mud run.

Of course, there are festival menu items to report.  The chicken dinner was fantastic, as were the gyros.  Even the snow cones were great.

For those of you still wondering, Opa Dude was back for this festival, though his image was only used as part of the social networking efforts.

 

Photos: Camarillo Greek Festival

Opa Dude is a mascot for the kids. He's part of a virtual scavenger hunt. Scanning the code below gives clues, and they learn about Greek culture. He is the essence of the festival.

Greek culture helped make surf culture. Dick Dale turned Greek guitar into surf guitar. "Miserlou" is a Greek song that dates back to the 1920s. More recently, it was used by the Black Eyed Peas.

Yesterday, we heard the song played by the Olympians, one of California's leading Greek bands.

Today is the last day of the festival. If you can get there, try the souvlaki. It's always good, but it's at a new level this year.