Greek Church Celebrates Super Bowl Weekend With Gyro Festival

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — The smell of lamb and beef roasting on rotisseries will soon waft over the Poughkeepsie neighborhood that's home to Kimisis Greek Orthodox Church.

The annual GyroBowl is set to take place during Super Bowl weekend inside the Hellenic Center, where people can enjoy Greek beer, other spirits and a meal of Greek specialties, such as gyros, spanakopita, Greek fries and baklava.

The Hellenic Center is located at 54 Park Ave. in Poughkeepsie. The GyroBowl will open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Super Bowl coverage will be projected on a big screen all weekend, organizers said.

Kimisis has put on Greek festivals for more than 40 years, Mike Pertesis, the church's parish council president, told Patch.

Each year, there are usually two large Greek festivals, featuring outdoor cooking and dining under tents, a Lenten fish fry and the small, more intimate GyroFests — this one timed to take place during the Super Bowl.

The large festivals take a lot of planning, Pertesis said, “but the smaller festivals are really just something we throw together.”

Around 30 community and parishioner volunteers help with the cooking and setting up, he said.

Since the GyroFest is inside, Pertesis said the church made the interior of the Hellenic Center more appealing, so people would want to stay and eat. Plus, there will be a bar serving Greek beer, wine and spirits.

During the weekend, food can be ordered in person or online for pickup or delivery through this website.

“During the pandemic,” Pertesis said, “we had ‘pick up and go’ and this year we have ‘pick up and stay.’ ”

New for 2023 is the ability to have your Greek meal delivered. “It’s something we are trying this year,” Pertesis said.

The menu includes classic beef and lamb gyros, chicken gyros, no-meat pitas with tomato, onion, tzatzkik and french fries inside, Greek salad and regular fries or Greek fries. For dessert, there is baklava.

Pertesis told Patch what he looks forward to having at the GyroFest.

“There’s nothing like a classic gyro,” he said, “and the Greek fries sprinkled with feta and some lemon.

“That combo along with a sweet piece of baklava afterward is perfect,” Pertesis said.

The festival is not just to give people something to eat during the weekend of the big game.

Pertesis said the festivals are also fundraisers, which allow the church to pursue its charitable mission and maintain the church property.

“Through these events, we are able to share the tradition of our faith and culture,” he said, “and engage with the community and serve them.

“It’s in our nature as Christians and as Greeks,” Pertesis said.