Folk Dance Festival 2018 by Pres. Maria Margaritis

With over 4,000 in attendance this was one of the largest FDF competitions; this included 108 dance and choral groups participating and over 3,000 individuals competing.

Uplift was the theme of the 42nd annual Greek Orthodox Folk Dance and Choral Festival (FDF) and that was the mood of the four-day event. This year it was held in the beautiful city by the bay, San Francisco and took place in mid-January 2018.

The vision statement of the FDF is: “The FDF encourages and continues the Orthodox faith, Greek heritage and culture among individuals, families and communities by expressing it through folk dance, folk art, music and language.” Their goal is: “To bring people together in Orthodox Christian Fellowship and love, creating greater communion and stronger ties through interaction with fellow Orthodox Christians.” 

What better place to present Project Mexico and St. Innocent Orphanage, than to those fellow Orthodox Christians sharing the desire to create stronger ties with other Orthodox Christians! Project Mexico and St. Innocent Orphanage once again had a booth at the FDF, where we had the privilege to meet and talk to many teens, parents, Yiayias and Papous interested in our work. Many had already come to build homes and many were interested in participating for the first time. This event was a great opportunity for us to showcase our work and inspire many to participate. We networked with priests from the San Francisco Metropolis and from across the country.

This year we were very fortunate to have our Executive Director, JP Andrews, Fr. Nicholas Andruchow and his son Luke Andruchow, help to man our booth along with other volunteers. There is always an excitement and a curiosity from those in attendance, which leads to many interesting conversations. This is a huge opportunity to present Project Mexico and St. Innocent Orphanage to a vast number of people. We had an Uplifting weekend, inspiring many to participate in Project Mexico and St. Innocent Orphanage. We look forward to participating again at next year’s FDF!