KALAMAZOO, MI - Kalamazoo's oldest outdoor festival will downsize and head indoors after this season.

The longtime organizers of Kalamazoo's Greek Festival say that after this year's event in June, the event will get a lot smaller.

"We are going to do our last outdoor Greek Fest and we are taking the festival back to its roots," said Betty Peristeridis, whose parents, Theo and Stacy Skartsiaris, started the festival about 40 years ago in the basement of their business, Dionysos Restaurant.

It grew from being a one-night dinner with dancing in the basement of the downtown restaurant -- which was located in the 100 block of East Michigan Avenue where Chase Bank is now -- into a three-day festival that attracts up to 40,000 people with Greek food, 20 to 25 traditional Greek dancers, 20-25 belly dancers and music.

This year's three-day Greek Fest, which invites people to "spend three days in Greece without leaving Kalamazoo," is scheduled for June 2 to 4 at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place in downtown Kalamazoo. It is the grandfather of the major festivals held there, having started 36 year ago, before the city established a permanent festival place.

When the event moved outdoors, it was held in the parking lot at the rear of Dionysos Restaurant, in city Parking Lot No. 9, which faces Water Street.

"We're going to take it back to our humble beginnings," Peristeridis said. But she said, "We're still working out the details."

The event will head indoors as a formal sit-down dinner and look to attract no more than, perhaps, 1,000 people. The proceeds will continue to benefit charitable community causes, however, she said. Patrons of various targeted charities may be invited to participate each year and proceeds will be donated to organizations that represent them.

"What we're looking to do is impact the local charities as much as possible," Peristeridis said. That is in keeping with lessons from her mother and late father to try to give back to the community.

Peristeridis said that after this year the event will be different but there will still be a traditional Greek show with a Greek orchestra, and the dancers, "My mom will still make all the Greek entrees."

She said presenting the festival, which will continue to be a family effort, involving Peristeridis, her mother, and her sister Joanna French, their husbands, their children and others. The family continues to operate the three Theo & Stacy's restaurants in Kalamazoo.

They hope to make an official announcement about what will happen this fall.

MLive writer Al Jones may be contacted at ajones5@mlive.com. Follow me on Twitter at ajones5_al