On Tuesday, April 2 bidders took a little bit of McKinley history home to their backyards as items of the playground such as slides, swings, monkey bars, pipe chimes, and even fencing were auctioned off onsite.  The auction set the stage for the quick demolition as the playground was gated off from the public that night.

One family took home five items, including the large straight slide for $25. “Almost everything was a pretty good deal,” he said. “We picked up more than we were expecting, including two large slides and one small one,” he chuckled nervously.

While they couple didn’t grow up playing on the playground, their children have fond memories. And the couple, like many of the other bidders, has been involved in other Rebuild McKinley Playground events.

Some highlights of the deals some people got:

-$50 for bucket swings with support beam (If the bidder just wanted a swing, her or she could take the swing with or without the support beam.”
-$25 for a third of the fence
- $25 for sandbox geometric sander toys.
-$120 for pipe chimes
-$25 for spaceship slide slider board.
-$150 for tick-tack-toe

What’s next with the Rebuild Movement?

Well, the McKinley Playground Community Build will be held June 4-9. Organizers are in need of tools for the project and ask for your help in loaning any of the tools listed:

50- corded drills 3/8-inch or ½-inch chuck, with chuck key attached.
15- cordless impact drivers. 14 or 18 volt
4- angle grinders, corded.
20- levels, 4 foot or longer. Must be accurate.
5- Routers, ¼-inch or ½-inch shank capacity
5-laminate routers, ¼-inch shank
2- sawzalls, corded, heavy duty
4- Sliding compound miter saws, 10” blade size
4- Chop saws (miter saw), 10” blade size
15-Circular saws (skilsaw) 7 1/4” blade size. Worm drive or sidewinder
6- 10’ or 12’ stepladders
1 -belt sander, 4×24” belt
2- portable table saw, 10” blade with all safety guards intact.
8- orbital jig saws.

All tools will be needed from June 1 through June 11, and they ask that they be checked in from May 31 through June 2. On receipt, tools will be checked for proper operation and safety, and a retrieval receipt issued to tool owner.

Rebuild McKinley will provide all bits and blades.
Tools will be returned in good working order. If problems develop, Rebuild McKinley will repair or replace any damaged tool.

If you bring a tool to use for your work shift only, you will be responsible for that tool. Only tools loaned for the project duration and properly checked in will be the responsibility of Rebuild McKinley.

Contact Jeff Harris if you are able to loan tools for the community build at cadence@surewest.net

Even if you do not have tools to loan, you can help by making a donation and/or volunteering.  For more information on how you can help, visit www.rebuildmckinley.org

About 300 dogs sniffed out eggs filled with tasty treats at the fourth annual Easter Egg Hunt for dogs at McKinley Park on Saturday, March 23.

After about 10 minutes after the horn went off signaling the start of the hunt, dogs and their caretakers cleaned the field. Some dogs were dressed to impress with pastel colored tutus and bunny ears at this family friendly event.

Families also got a chance to share get their picture taken with the Easter bunny, which was fun to watch, as caretakers tried their best to get their dogs to sit still for the photo op.

Sponsored and organized by Wag Hotels in West Sacramento, proceeds from the hunt benefited Chako Pit Bull Rescue, which according to their website “aims to alleviate the persecution of the Pit Bull breeds by finding homes for Pit Bulls in need, promoting responsible dog ownership, and standing against breed discrimination.”

That last of the statement of the rescue’s mission hit a chord with Wag Hotels, as there are no breed restrictions at the hotel.

“Pit bulls — they get such a bad wrap and Chako’s is a smaller rescue that would benefit with the proceeds. Just seem to fit right,” said Kristin Rau, general manager of Wag Hotel, who said the egg hunt raised $1,700 for the rescue organization.

Rau said the hotel wanted to hold an event offsite that would attract a good crowd. “We wanted a nice, dog friendly community, which East Sacramento is and McKinley Park is gorgeous. We tried to attract those in the community who would be most interested,” she said.

“That was the largest event we’ve had so far,” added Nicole Marchal of Wag Hotels. “We were not expecting quite the turnout we had,” she said.

More about Chako Pit Bull Rescue

Although Chako Pit Bull rescue is based in Sacramento, the organization works on both a state and national level. It provides advocacy efforts for responsible dog owners, free and low cost Pit Bull classes, and educational events throughout the year. Also check out the Pit Bull Owner’s Guide for information every Pit Bull owner should know. Chako will pay to spay or neuter your Pit Bull!

About Wag Hotels

Wag Hotels is a stay and play resort for dogs and cats. Founded in 2005, Wag offers hotel-style boarding, all day play/doggie day care, training and pet education, grooming, and spa services. Plus, they are always open.

Goose with Angel Wing Deformity

Most of us were brought up to feed bread to the waterfowl. In the past the birds would migrate away to the fields and waterways to forage for their nutrition. But most of the waterfowl at the McKinley Park pond do not migrate and so do not balance out their nutritional needs in the wilds, leading to many of the birds developing wing deformities.

That’s the message from concerned neighbors who have started an educational campaign to discourage feeding bread and processed human food to ducks in the pond.

Angel wing deformity

East Sacramento Preservation is leading an effort with the City of Sacramento with the assistance of many others in East Sacramento announced a change in the waterfowl management policy at the McKinley Park Pond and any other ponds in Sacramento.

New signage at the pond will explain that the birds should only be fed whole grains and seeds, waterfowl pellets (obtained at feed stores and some pet stores) and peas.

“Breeding season has just started so it is important to get the word out to the public about this important issue to prevent further wing deformities,” stated a news release.

Bread and similar products have no nutritional value for the birds and thus their wing development and growth is affected, suggest volunteers.

Goose with Deformed Wing

Neighborhood volunteers, the Boy Scouts and other groups passed out sample food and informational flyers at the pond during the past few weekends in February.

City of Sacramento recommendations include:

•  Don’t overfeed. Take a small bag of whole grain, seeds, waterfowl pellets or peas.
• Pet & feed stores carry fowl scratch, pigeon seed, and waterfowl pellets. This commercial food is nutritionally designed for birds.
•  Explain to the kids that the ducks are on a special diet to help them stay healthy.
•  Do not throw the feed into the pond, either spread it on the ground or feed from your hand or a shallow bowl. This will help keep the pond cleaner.

-Courtesy of East Sacramento Preservation

Goose with Deformed wing

On Saturday, Nov. 10, Friends of East Sacramento worked on a list of long-term projects and regular park maintenance.  FOES provided snacks, water and coffee to volunteers. The next volunteer day will be Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, from 9 a.m. to noon, when Friends of East Sacramento assist the Sacramento Rose Society at their annual McKinley Rose Garden Prune-a-thon.Visit www.friendsofeastsac.org, email friendsofeastsac@aol.com or call 452-8011 for more information.

For last minute holiday shoppers, give a gift that supports East Sacramento parks. Canvas shopping bags with a copy of a painting of the McKinley Park duck pond by artist Maria Winkler are available for a $10 donation to the Pops in the Park fund.

Credit card donations cannot be accepted. Checks should be made out to Gifts to Share/Pops in the Park.

The bags are available at East Sacramento Hardware (4800 Folsom Blvd.) and The Pink House (1462 33rd St.) or by calling 452-8011.

The program is sponsored by the East Sacramento Chamber of Commerce.

Walk with a Doc is a national program developed by cardiologist David Sabgir in Ohio.  The California Medical Association Foundation held a kickoff event for bringing the program to California at the State Capitol.  The program is being piloted in Sacramento, Fresno, and Humboldt counties.  Locally, the Sierra Sacramento Medical Society is now in charge of organizing these events. 
 The organization has four walks planned for this fall, which began Saturday, Oct. 27 at McKinley Park.  The group plans to host one walk a month (at different parks around town) in 2013.  Walks will be held on Saturday mornings and will last about an hour each.  Each event will start with a physician giving a quick 10-15 minute talk about healthful living, followed by about 30 minutes of walking around a local park.
Walk with a Doc strives to encourage healthy physical activity in people of all ages, and reverse the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle in order to improve the health and wellbeing of the country.  Walk with a Doc is a free, non-profit program for anyone interested in taking steps for their health.
East Sacramento News Editor Monica Stark asked Kristine Wallach Program Director of Sacramento Physicians Initiative to Reach out, Innovate and Teach (SPIRIT) Program some questions about Walk with a Doc.

MS- HOW ARE DOCTORS CHOSEN?
KW- Physicians volunteer to lead walks.  Walk with a Doc offers physicians a chance to model healthy behavior in the community, as well as to interact with the public in a different way. 

MS- WHY IS THIS BEING PILOTED IN SACRAMENTO (AND FRESNO AND HUMBOLDT) COUNTIES? ARE WE AMONGST THE MORE SEDENTARY COUNTIES?
 KW- Walk with a Doc was created by Dr. David Sabgir, an Ohio cardiologist.  Spearheading the effort in California, the California Medical Association (CMA) Foundation kicked off a partnership with local county medical societies across the state, including the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society (SSVMS), to get the Walk with a Doc program up and running in California.
More than half of all California adults age 18 and over are either overweight or obese, which can contribute to a number of chronic diseases. Research shows one of the most effective ways to address obesity is through exercise and physical activity and that walking for as little as 30 minutes a day can have significant benefits.
The California Medical Association has chosen to work with Fresno, Humboldt and Sacramento Counties to launch Walk with a Doc.  These counties range in their physical inactivity from 21 percent in Fresno County and 19 percent in both Humboldt and Sacramento Counties.  22 percent of adults in Fresno report having moderate physical activity, compared to 23 percent in Humboldt and 19 percent in Sacramento Counties.  These counties surpass national and state benchmarks for adult obesity, which are 25 percent and 24 percent respectively with Fresno at 29 percent, Humboldt at 26 percent and Sacramento at 28 percent.  These counties, with their diverse populations, represent the pilot counties with the program expected to expand statewide.  
 
MS- HOW ARE YOU INVOLVED WITH THIS? WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS A WORTHWHILE EVENT?
KW- The Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society (SSVMS) is a professional association representing physicians in all modes of practice and specialties as well as medical students, residents, and fellows. In continuous operation since 1860, SSVMS is the oldest medical society in California and represents nearly 3,000 physicians in El Dorado, Sacramento and Yolo counties. The Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society is dedicated to upholding the authority and autonomy of physicians in the delivery of professional and ethical medical care.  All physicians, regardless of mode of practice, are uniquely qualified and committed to compassionate treatment of patients.  One of our guiding principles is to promote the art and science of medicine and defend the public health thereby improving access, quality, and continuity of care in our community.  Walk with a Doc is a natural fit with the mission of SSVMS. 
According to the American Heart Association, walking has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity and walking for as little as 30 minutes a day can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, improve blood pressure and blood sugar levels, maintain body weight and lower the risk of obesity, enhance mental well-being, improve blood lipid profile, reduce the risk of osteoporosis and breast and colon cancer, and reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes.  Walking is low impact; easier on the joints than running. It is safe – with a doctor’s okay – for people with orthopedic ailments, heart conditions, and those who are more than 20 percent overweight. In addition, research has shown that you could gain two hours of life for each hour of regular exercise!
By encouraging people to make walking a part of your fitness regimen doctors are taking a preventative measure and inviting people to improve their health.

MS- CAN PEOPLE BRING QUESTIONS UNRELATED TO EXERCISE FOR DOCTORS TO ANSWER? 
KW- Walk with a Doc is designed as an encouraging, social activity.  It is not designed to replace a visit to a medical practitioner. The interaction that a walker will have with a physician is casual and not intended as a diagnostic opportunity.

MS- WHAT KIND OF TURNOUT ARE YOU EXPECTING?
KW- We are hoping for 25 to 50 walkers at each event.  All walks are WEATHER PERMITTING. 
 
MS- WHAT WILL THE 10-15 MINUTE TALKS CONSIST OF, TOPIC-WISE?
KW- We have left the talk topics up to our physician leaders.  The first walk, on October 27th at McKinley Park included a talk about exercise specific to women’s health and pregnancy.  November is national COPD and Lung Cancer Awareness month, so those three walks are co-sponsored by Breathe California – Emigrant Trails and the America Lung Association.  Walk leaders in November will focus their remarks on breathing and lung related issues.  In 2013 some physician leaders may tailor their remarks to a nationally recognized health topic for that month (i.e. February is American Heart Month, so our walk leader will be a cardiologist; March is Brain Injury Awareness month, so our walk leader will be a neurologist who will address brain injury prevention, etc.)

MS- DO YOU HAVE DATES, LOCATIONS SET FOR FUTURE WALKS?
KW- We have three more walks scheduled for fall 2012. 
 
DATE:  Saturday, November 3, 2012
LOCATION: Tahoe Park
8th Avenue and 61st Street, Sacramento
DATE:  Saturday, November 10, 2012
LOCATION: UC Davis Arboretum
Wyatt Deck on Old Davis Road, Davis
 
DATE:  Saturday, November 17, 2012
LOCATION: Southside Park
Between W and T Streets at 6th Street, Sacramento

Our goal is to plan walks in different parks around town once a month in 2013.   Dates and locations will be available at www.ssvms.org/events.aspx

Cecily Hastings and Lisa Schmidt, cofounders of the Friends of East Sacramento, want to make weddings the primary source of income for the Clunie Center. / Photo by Adam Stark

From renovating the Clunie Center, to rebuilding the playground, beautifying the rose garden and expanding the Greek Orthodox Church, McKinley will be a neighborhood “designed by the community and presented by the community,” in the words of Councilman Steve Cohn at a recent McKinley East Sacramento Neighborhood Association meeting.

Councilman Cohn made the above statement in regards to the efforts to rebuild McKinley Playground, in which he stated that more than $600,000 has been approved for reconstruction, and assured the community that all funds were gathered either from insurance claims or excess city money.

Cohn said the new playground will look like the old one, however, several changes will be made. There is intent to use a synthetic wood material as opposed to the real thing, and foam floors will likely replace the woodchips currently in use.

Across the park, the rose garden and Clunie Center will also see vast improvements.

Cecily Hastings and Lisa Schmidt, cofounders of the Friends of East Sacramento, are spearheading efforts to gather volunteers for maintenance of the gardens, namely general upkeep or the removal of dead flowers. So far, funds have been raised for the first year of upkeep, but $30,000 is still needed to complete the project.

Hastings and Schmidt want to make weddings the primary source of income for the Center, so they are working on a marketing package for local restaurants before advertising to the community. Their plan is to have East Sac restaurants cater weddings.

McKinley Park itself will not be the only part of the McKinley neighborhood to be renovated. The Greek Orthodox Church and Sutter Memorial have remodel plans in the works.

Architect Dan Eriksson and building chairman George Koufasimis explained plans for the renovation and expansion of the Greek Orthodox Church, located at the corner of Alhambra and F Street. The expansions will include a large hall, an education center, and a new courtyard.

The project will include demolishing most of the structures on the block (but not the existing church) and merging the entire block except for the physical therapists’ office on the corner of Alhambra Boulevard and G Street. According to the church’s master plan, the current church building would ultimately be demolished and replaced with a new one. But that’s a long ways off, maybe a decade or so.  The new hall will house a variety of events, as well as adapting and building on existing architecture.

Representatives of StoneBridge Properties LLC were also at the meeting to announce upcoming renovations to Sutter Memorial Hospital, which will help the building blend in with the surrounding neighborhood.

jcooper@valcomnews.com

Big plans are underway for The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, located at the corner of Alhambra and F Street. New facilities, such as a courtyard, education and administration buildings, will replace their aging counterparts. New parking areas will increase parking capacity and a new access drive will improve circulation, on and off site.
After more than 20 years of considering various options to build new facilities at other locations, the parish has committed to renew and invest for the future at its present campus.
To the church community, this renewal represents a like for like replacement of facilities centered on a new campus heart – the Kardia.

Here’s a bit of an overview
-The existing church will remain.  It has a seating capacity of up to 450 people and is 7,380 square feet.
-The Kendron, or multipurpose center (social, cultural, recreational), provides meeting and recreational space as well as a small religious bookstore.  Banquet seating capacity is 450. It’s a total of 22,500 square feet, with 17,000 square feet at the ground level and a 5,500-square-foot mezzanine.
-The education and administrative building provides administrative and education space necessary for operations and ministry functions. The administration wing includes offices for the secretary, priests, and parochial assistants (youth, visiting clergy), a library and meeting rooms. The education wing will support the parish’s daycare/preschool as well as its Sunday schools, youth programs and other various ministries that serve the community at large. This building will have two floors, totaling 16,800 square feet.
A project in phases
The project will be phased.  Phasing depends upon the success of fundraising.  It is envisioned that the Kendron can be initially developed, along with the Kardia and a portion of the parking lot.  Under this scenario, the Parish will continue to operate out of the existing Kendron until the new Kendron completed and ready for occupancy.  The next phase of the Master Plan would include adding the Education/Administration  Building, its adjacent outside play area, the remaining parking lot, the access drive and balance of the  Kardia enhancements.

A Proud Foundation
For more than 90 years, Greek Orthodox Christians have been served culturally and spiritually at facilities located at 600 Alhambra, just across from McKinley Park in East Sacramento.  Initially the existing Church was constructed in 1952 by a proud group of energetic and patriotic Greek Americans eager to lay the foundation their children’s future and the generations that would follow.  As time went on, the community grew to become an integral part of the Sacramento Metropolitan region and subsequent generations acquired much of the block bounded by F and G streets (to the north and south) and Alhambra Boulevard and 30th Street (to the east and west).
Additional facilities such as the education/administration building and Kendron (Social Hall) were constructed over the years and have come to comprise the Annunciation’s parish campus, which continues to serve Orthodox Christians of many backgrounds and ethnicities.

Changing needs and growth
Over the years the community’s needs have changed significantly from those of a few immigrant families from Greece.  The Annunciation Parish has become a thriving community of over five hundred supporting families with sister parishes in Elk Grove and Roseville.  To better meet present and future needs, the Annunciation  Parish has developed a Campus Master Plan that will replace its aging facilities and create a new parish identity.   In the same manner that earlier generations laid the foundation that enabled the community to grow, the new Campus Master Plan represents the Annunciation’s commitment to future generations, and reflects the Parish’s role as an integral and dynamic community of Sacramento.

A new parish campus vision and master plan
Over the past 20 years the parish has entertained other options to relocate its campus away from the current site, but none came to fruition due to conditions that were beyond the Annunciation’s control.  In June 2010 the parish decided that there was no better place than its present campus upon which to rebuild and renew the spiritual, cultural, and civic connections make up the very fabric of the Annunciation Community.   From this commitment a new Campus Master Plan – to be initiated in phases as resources allow – will enrich and enhance these very connections over the coming years.
The proposed Campus Master Plan is centered and organized around the Kardia (Greek for heart), a multi-function outdoor courtyard where the Annunciation will gather for cultural, religious, social, and community events.
It will front along Alhambra Boulevard and is situated between the existing Church and a new Kendron, which will replace the existing Kendron.  The Kardia will be paved and landscaped with shrubs, lawns and trees which will provide the shade, atmosphere and ambiance to transform the Kardia into a space that enhances the community and serves as the “Heart of the Campus”.
Further, the Kardia is envisioned to act as a complementary visual extension of McKinley Park (across Alhambra Boulevard) through  cool and restful shade found in its arcades and cloisters.  As noted above, the Parish’s existing Church – which fronts on Alhambra across from McKinley Park – will remain, on the north side of the Kardia.

Disclosure: Editor Monica Stark’s husband works for the architecture firm, Comstock Johnson, which is heading up the plans.

Although it just started a few months ago with a Facebook page, new nonprofit East Sac Give Back is already making quite an impact in the community, including helping to raise more than $3,000 toward the rebuilding efforts for the McKinley Park playground.
East Sac Give Back is the brainchild of 13-year East Sacramento resident Michael Saeltzer. A former public school teacher, Saeltzer is currently a stay-at-home dad to his 4- and 6-year-old daughters and lives in East Sacramento with them and his wife, Shinder.
“We just love (East Sacramento),” he said. “We have wonderful neighbors, nice parks, great schools, recreational sports – it’s kind of the ideal place for us.”
Saeltzer says he got the idea for East Sac Give Back after reading an article in The Sacramento Bee that talked about discrepancies between East Sacramento and nearby Oak Park.
“They did a lot of talking about how East Sacramento has a lot of healthcare, parks, restaurants and neat activities for kids, and how Oak Park is really struggling with a lot of those things,” he said. “But they didn’t talk a lot about how the communities actually relate to each other.”
Saeltzer decided to start a discussion about this issue online and after generating some positive responses from both community and business members to see what he could do to help bring the two communities together.
“The mission of East Sac Give Back is to provide the community a single philanthropic identity,” Saeltzer said. “It’s kind of unique in that it’s not just to strengthen our own community in East Sacramento, it’s actually to reach out to other communities in Sacramento also. And in the long-term we’re planning on giving 50 percent of our fundraising to another community or other communities and 50 percent to be reinvested back into East Sacramento proper.”

Having an impact
Although East Sac Give Back does not yet have its tax-exempt status – which is something Saeltzer is currently working on – the nonprofit has already been helping to raise money and work on projects toward its mission.
Right now the organization’s main efforts have been going toward helping raise money to rebuild the playground at McKinley Park in East Sacramento, which burned down the evening of July 27.
“When that happened is when I really decided that I want to pump it into high gear to see if we could get some volunteers for the rebuilding, maybe raise some funds, and bring people together in a positive way,” Saeltzer said.
By using the group’s Facebook page and a fundraising website called GoFundMe.com, in less than 48 hours East Sac Give Back raised more than $1,600 toward the rebuild. And as of Aug. 2, more than $3,000 has been raised through the website.
This total does not include donations East Sac Give Back has been receiving from area businesses that are doing their own collecting.
“I didn’t expect to get too much because times are pretty hard right now, but … we’re coming along,” Saeltzer said. “Some people are donating $100. I mean, that’s really nice. So that blew me away – that’s been exciting.”

Making a difference
In addition to helping rebuild the McKinley Park playground, East Sac Give Back is working on other projects such as looking at starting community gardening in East Sacramento.
“There’s no community gardening in East Sacramento and there’s a couple of them in Oak Park,” Saeltzer said. “We’ve been talking with some of the people in Oak Park about how they got theirs started and how we might be able to get one put in here.”
Additionally, the organization is looking into putting a circuit training course in a neighborhood park in memory of Dr. David Kilmer, who Saeltzer says passed away a few years go and was very physical fitness oriented.
And East Sac Give Back is also looking at what can be done to keep community swimming pools open for another summer.
“A lot of people have really felt happy this summer that the pools were able to stay open and some of them still need help with funding,” he said.
Saeltzer said he would also like to see East Sac Give back do some events that would bring in members of other communities, such as Del Paso Heights, Oak Park or West Sacramento, “so that people can start getting to know each other beyond just their neighborhood boundaries and maybe share their food and music and good times together.”

Forging ahead
As East Sac Give Back marches forward, Saeltzer hopes to bring on more members to his group to get more input on what the organization should be doing.
He gets many of these ideas from his Facebook page, which was set up May 5 and currently has 98 followers, and Facebook Group, which has 201 members.
Saeltzer says the convenience and ease of connecting with individuals and communities is what made him launch East Sac Give Back on Facebook.
“It’s been a great platform for me,” he said. “It’s been fairly easy to operate, it’s been free and it’s been very transparent, which I think helps a lot. It was the easiest, quickest way to get the word out.”
Saeltzer said the most important thing for him is to focus on things that bring people and communities together.
“I want (East Sac Give Back) to be continually growing and continually networking with other individuals, businesses and even other nonprofits to find out how we can do things to help out communities,” he said.

corrie@valcomnews.com

The 49th Annual Greek Festival, which will have a new feature of an entertainment stage in the center of the venue, will be held Labor Day weekend at the Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J St., from Friday, Aug. 31 through Sunday, Sept. 2. Festival hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 for ages 12 and older, $4 for seniors 55 and older and free for children ages 11 and younger. Admission is also free for anyone attending the event on Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation is not only known for its historic East Sacramento church complex west of McKinley Park, but also for its annual Greek Festival.
And playing an important role in the founding of this event was Eugene Fotos, who was raised in East Sacramento.
Today, the event is recognized as one of the state’s most popular Greek festivals. But the event, which was first held on Nov. 15, 1964, had a much more humble beginning.

The beginning
Cosmas Alliapoulos, who was serving as president of the Greek Community of Sacramento and Vicinity (which was incorporated on Jan. 30, 1920), attended one of the earliest editions of the Greek Festival presented by St. Basil Greek Orthodox Christian Church in Stockton.
The event was first held at the Stockton Civic Auditorium in 1960.
Inspired by St. Basil’s Greek Festival, Alliapoulos asked Fotos, who was already a longtime Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation member, to chair a local food faire.
Fotos accepted the role of the event’s chair and began working with Lillian Psihopaidas, who served as the faire’s co-chair.
This faire, which is recognized as the first Sacramento Greek Festival, was the most modest edition of this now longtime, annual event.
This inaugural event, which was attended by 718 people at the Hellenic Center on Alhambra Boulevard and included a band, dancing and a pastry booth with few sales, netted $2,556.
Fotos said that a large part of this pastry booth’s inability to be successful was due to the fact that people were dancing around the booth.
“Because the people were dancing around the booth, (the booth’s manager) Mrs. (Vasiliki) Manolis, couldn’t sell the pastries,” Fotos recalled. “She had 8-foot tables (to display the pastries). The band started playing and pretty soon people started dancing around the tables and the poor thing, (Manolis), said, ‘I can’t sell. I can’t sell.’”

Eppie at the festival
In 1966, the festival was relocated to the Scottish Rite Temple at 6151 H St.
Among those in attendance at the 1966 festival, which raised $4,200, were Fotos, Bill Demas, Perry Georgallis and Eppie Johnson.
Johnson, who had opened Eppie’s Restaurant and Coffee Shop at 3001 N Street in East Sacramento about two years earlier, drew much attention at the event, as he wore a traditional Greek fustanella – an article of clothing similar to a Scottish kilt.
In remembering Eppie’s appearance at the 1966 festival, Fotos said, “I was shocked after I saw that. I couldn’t believe it. Usually (these fustanellas) are white and blue. But what did Eppie have? He had green or some strange color. And he picked (the color).”
During the latter part of the 1960s and 70s, the site for this event changed several times.
These sites were the Governor’s Hall on the old State Fairgrounds at Stockton Boulevard and Broadway, the Country Club Plaza mall parking lot, Jesuit High School and the grounds of the Greek Orthodox Church, next to the Hellenic Center.
Fotos said that the festival at Jesuit High proved to be a very lengthy affair.
“In those days, we just had a two-day festival – Saturday and Sunday,” Fotos said. “We had to pick up everything, because the school was going to be in session the next day. And we worked, we worked, we worked. There weren’t a lot of us working and we drug everything over to the trucks and loaded them on and we got to the church (in East Sacramento) at 7 (o’clock) in the morning. We worked all night long.”

Cal Expo and beyond
During the early 1980s, the festival was held for a couple of years at Cal Expo.
Fotos vividly recalled the 1981 festival, which proved to be a fairly infamous event.
“Just two days before our festival, an indoor rodeo had been held in the same building we were to use (at Cal Expo),” Fotos said. “The remaining multitude of horseflies and the lingering aromatic scent of horses were almost too much to bear.”
The festival was relocated to its present site at the Sacramento Convention Center in 1984, and four years later, the event’s earnings surpassed the $100,000 mark for the first time, as the festival raised $108,657.

Festival food
The festival’s Greek cuisine and desserts collectively serve as a popular draw of the event.
These edibles include dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), souvlaki (meat kabobs), gyros (Greek sandwiches on pita bread), tiropites (cheese puff filo dough triangles), homemade salads, baklava (a rich, flaky filo dough pastry filled with walnuts, butter and cinnamon and soaked in honey) and loukoumathes (honey-dipped donut holes).
Food items such as imported Greek olives, cheeses, crackers, coffees, cookies and candies can also be purchased at the event’s pantopoleon, or Greek grocery store.
Another festival attraction is the agora, or Greek, marketplace, where guests can purchase items such as jewelry, artwork and recorded music.

Other attractions
Also attracting much attention at the festival are Greek dancing groups, who wear festive Greek clothing and perform traditional Greek dances.
As a family-oriented event, the festival also offers various children’s activities.
Fotos, who will turn 80 next month, said that he is proud of the festival’s longtime existence and popularity.
“We are very proud to be of Greek descent and to share our heritage and traditions with Sacramento area people and others,” said Fotos, whose nephew, Father James Retelas, serves as the priest of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation.

Lance@valcomnews.com