By Khalida Sarwari
There are approximately 7,500 miles between California and Egypt, but for one weekend in August that distance will be bridged at the St. George Coptic Church’s fourth annual Egyptian Festival.
The church, at 395 W. Rincon Ave. in Campbell, will host the festival Aug. 24-26 to raise funds for the completion of the building currently being built next to the church.
“It’s been a multi-year process,” said festival organizer Eric Harvey. “It’s a multimillion-dollar project that’s being funded by the people. One of the big fundraising events of the year is the Egyptian Festival.”
Harvey estimated that more than 5,000 people attended the 2011 festival held over three days. Four thousand raffle tickets worth $10 apiece were sold and total revenue was estimated at around $50,000.
This year, organizers are raffling off a 2012 Ford Fiesta for the grand prize. The winner can choose the car or $9,000 cash. The second place prize is a $500 Apple store gift card and the third place winner will score a $500 teeth whitening gift certificate from Los Gatos Dental Care.
As of early July, 6,000 raffle tickets had been sold, said Harvey.
Other features of the festival include Egyptian food, music, entertainment, dancing and shopping.
“The food is nothing short of fantastic,” Harvey said. Attendees will get to sample a buffet consisting of shwarma, grilled meats and fried dishes prepared by members of the St. George congregation. There will also be traditional Egyptian desserts such as baklava, konafa and basboosa and non-alcoholic specialty drinks.
Visitors will be treated to musical and comedy shows reflecting the Egyptian culture. For those with a little cash to spare, there will be plenty of souvenirs to purchase.
“We’re just trying to share the Egyptian culture with the people of Campbell,” said Harvey.
Children won’t be left out with the return of the Sphinx Playground, which will offer games, face painting and other activities.
Admission to the festival was bumped up from $1 in 2011 to $2 this year.
All proceeds from the event will go to the St. George Building Fund, the nonprofit dedicated to helping the church complete its new building designed to resemble an authentic Egyptian Coptic church. The project was launched in 2007 but was stalled between 2008 and 2010 due to insufficient funds. Construction restarted in January and is slated to be completed in the fall. The existing facility will be demolished and replaced with a multi-purpose room that will be connected to the new building, said Harvey.
The new church will have domes, stained glass windows, custom woodwork imported from Egypt, additional windows and will accommodate up to 300 people, nearly three times the number accommodated in the existing facility.
The festival will be open Aug. 24 from 5 to 9 p.m., Aug. 25 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Aug. 26 from noon to 4 p.m.
For more information about the festival, visit www.egyptianfestivalca.com. Additional information about the St. George Coptic Church can be found at www.stgeorgechurch.org.
