POCATELLO Over a century of continuous improvements have been made to a church that continues to be a place of worship every week.
Pocatello’s historic Greek Orthodox Church hosted its 2025 Annual Greek Festival on Saturday. The event provides funds for the parish’s facility restoration and improvement. With a congregation that, according to Father Constantine Zozos, has only been growing, he expressed gratitude to those who continue to support the church and attend the festival.
We have a wide variety of delicacies that people must be craving because they return year after year and bring in an increasing number of visitors. And they’re overjoyed. “It’s a great, joyful occasion, and we’re thrilled to have the community’s support,” Zozos added.
GALLERY: 2025’s annual Greek Festival at the historic church
According to Zozos, the celebration began about 12 years ago when he had recently arrived to the Pocatello Parish. Some congregation members proposed the idea of hosting a festival to generate money for building upgrades.
A meeting was held between us. This is how it’s going to go, I said. According to Zozos, the event will only last for one day, and everything will be outside and a-la-carte.
The festival has since expanded and currently attracts about 6,000 visitors annually. Because of this, the parish has kept improving and modifying the food line, dividing it into two lines, adding extra cash registers, and, most recently, barcoding the packaging of its own baked goods.
They have been able to make much-needed renovations to its facilities thanks to the festival’s proceeds and some extra financing from the Idaho Historic Society because the building is historic.
These include repairing the church’s ceiling, which includes the dome and bell tower, erecting a brick fence around the courtyard, and hiring a Greek painter to add iconography to the walls.
It is a 110-year-old church. Zozos stated, “We have worked hard to keep it going for another 110 years.”
Furthermore, the parish has been able to establish modern facilities and a commercial kitchen in the communal hall thanks to the festival.
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However, the amenities still need to be improved. Although the parish has not yet chosen what project to take on next, they have thought of installing tiered seating in the balcony, asphalting the property across the alley from the courtyard for more parking, and replacing the windows in the social hall.
Given that its flock is expanding—Zozos estimates that about 200 people attend each Sunday—the parish has taken this into consideration.
Additionally, Zozos noted that most of the volunteers that festival goers encounter are not of Greek ethnicity, with many having joined the congregation within the last five years.
Zozos added, nevertheless, that the group still has Greek ethnic members who have been handed down the recipes for the cuisine they serve at the festival from previous generations.
This message was reflected by a sign placed in front of the festival’s pastry line.
When you combine sunshine, butter, honey, and centuries of happiness, you get Greek pastries. You’re tasting history, kindness, and the greatest justification in the world to pause and savor life—you’re not just eating dessert. Oh! It said on the sign.
