OAKLAND — The Oakland Greek Festival is celebrating its 44th anniversary for three days in the Oakland hills May 20-22 at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension.

From traditional Greek cuisine, music and dance performances, tours of the cathedral to that infectious Greek welcoming spirit, the event promises to have you leaving a bit more Greek than you were coming in. Greeks like to share, and this festival is the perfect venue for the celebration of the Greek spirit.

“The festival has been going on for 44 years, and it’s a great opportunity for us in the parish to share our culture, history and religion, our whole philosophy of life with the beauty in the Bay Area,” said Paul Fakaros, the festival’s co-chair. “We can show off our traditional food and drink, people can learn about our religion and our dance at pretty much the precipice of the Bay Area looking out at the Bay Bridge.”

Father Tom Zaferes used the Greek word “philotemo” to describe wanting to show respect to other people. He sees this festival as a way to expose the sameness among diverse groups.

“This festival is our way of trying to fit into the culture and invite people to see not only how we’re different, but more deeply, how we’re very much the same,” Zaferes said. “In our diversity, if we go a little deeper, we have this common bond as human beings and if we can make that happen here, I think that is the best gift of all because in this world it’s extremely important.”

All three days feature the full complement of food, activities and lively Greek music and dancing, with only the bands and dance groups changing. Fakaros said that many people enjoy it so much they come on all three days.

One festival highlight is the setting, with the main stage, and many food booths and tables placed overlooking San Francisco Bay, a beautiful panoramic view.

All the food is homemade, prepared by parishioners, everything from pastries and famous street food to family-style entrees. Festivalgoers can enjoy sumoussaka, pastitso, spanakopita, tiropita, lamb dishes and gyros; a room brimming with pastries such as baklava, kourambiethes, loukoumades; Greek beers, including mythos, and wine like the well-known white retsina. A Greek wine tasting bar will feature a flight of premium Greek wines.

For Father Zaferes another highlight is the dance performances. Each day, different groups perform in traditional costumes to traditional songs and teach Greek dancing to festivalgoers.

“We have third- and fourth-generation children who have learned the different dances from different parts of Greece, and they’re very proud of having learned and performed them,” he said. “The really special part of this festival is seeing these wonderful young people perform these authentic Greek dances.”

There will be crafts, games and a small playground for children, vendors will feature Greek cultural and religious items and there will also be guided tours of the church and cathedral, as well as lectures on ancient Greece.

Proceeds from the festival benefit the parish and various ministries that reach out into the community as a thank you for their support.

Festivalgoers can look forward to being welcomed into a very open-arms, infectious environment, a celebration, and perhaps as they leave, thinking about the day, or days, they’ve enjoyed.

“I would love people to leave feeling that, as wonderful as it was, they feel like they’d like to come back or even take a trip to Greece,” Fakaros said. “We want people to leave feeling as if they’re leaving a friend’s house.”