The festival coincides with the Dormition of the Theotokos, an annual feast commemorating the death of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and her assumption into heaven.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The observances began Friday, Aug. 14, as churchgoers gathered for a procession carrying the Kouvouklion, also known as the Epitaphios of the Theotokos, around the church grounds. The ornate funeral bier typically holds an embroidered burial shroud or icon depicting Mary\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost like a makeshift tomb,\u201d said Vickie Malegiannakis, the parish council president. \u201cWe carry it around the church outside, like a funeral procession.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Theotokos hosted its annual Greek Festival on Aug. 15. Roy Gumpel\/The Overlook. <\/p>\n
The church held a service Saturday before the festival began. Throughout the day, worshipers placed votive offerings, known as tamata, on an altar inside the church. The small metal plaques, made of tin, silver, or gold, are traditionally stamped with symbols representing a specific prayer, petition, or expression of gratitude.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople make a pilgrimage,\u201d said Malegiannakis, who lives in Ashland. \u201cLet\u2019s say you have a sick child, a sick parent, or maybe you just want to pray for the health of your loved one. You make an offering, a priest blesses it, and it\u2019s passed to the congregation.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The church, built in 1961, is decorated with motifs honoring Mary. Its congregation has 115 active members, and many live outside Windham. Weekly attendance numbers range from 10 to 40 depending on the season, and services are held in both Greek and English.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the summer, it swells, because we have the Floridians that come back,\u201d Malegiannakis said. \u201cSome people just want to get out of the city and they have their second homes but they don\u2019t want to deal with three feet of snow.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Photos by Roy Gumpel\/The Overlook. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut even in the winter, we\u2019re here every Sunday,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The festival is a fundraiser for the church and an important gathering for a congregation that has grown smaller over the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Greek community was really active here, but as time progresses, European travel became easier for people and they started going back to the homeland,\u201d Malegiannakis said. \u201cA lot of people live less here now, but because it\u2019s the feast day of the Dormition of the Holy Mother, we celebrate it because it\u2019s the name of our church.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Greek Alps<\/p>\n
Windham\u2019s Greek community flourished in the mid-20th century around at least five resorts collectively known as the Greek Alps, that drew thousands of Greek Americans from New York City. Much like the Borscht Belt in Ulster and Sullivan counties, the Armenian resorts of Hunter, and the German resorts that dotted the lower Catskills in Cairo, vacationers sought affordable places where they could speak their native language and connect with family and friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy uncle was one of the first of my clan that arrived,\u201d Koundourakis said. \u201cHe bought a lot of property in Windham.\u201d<\/p>\n
Koundourakis, 60, grew up in New York City before moving to Ridgefield, Connecticut. She still owns a home on Old Road, where many of her family members purchased property in the mid-20th century. She said some locals affectionately referred to Old Road as \u201cGreek Corner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the Greeks that came, that immigrated, they were either missing their mountains or they needed the beach,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of them came up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The interior of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Theotokos in Windham. Roy Gumpel\/The Overlook. <\/p>\n
Much of the evidence of the Greek resorts in Windham is anecdotal, with little academic resources available and only a few mentions of the community on Facebook groups and fringe websites. Ads for the resorts, which would have existed in Atlantis, a Greek-language newspaper in New York City, are unavailable as the paper has not been digitized, according to Greene County Historian Jonathan Palmer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Koundourakis remembers at least five resorts: Starlite, Kallithea, Olympia, Pindos, and Sparta Manor. While her family owned homes in Windham, she still went to the resorts for live music and entertainment. She has particularly fond memories of playing musical chairs at Kallithea, which she said was located near Hensonville.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody who had a house here, we used to go there for entertainment,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was a live band, we used to play musical chairs, it was really a lot of fun.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Denise Cecchini, 71, also grew up in New York City. A parish council member, Cecchini, who now lives in Rutherford, New Jersey, came up to Windham each summer. Her grandparents owned Sparta Manor, formerly located on Nauvoo Road.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey could have accommodated 300 guests,\u201d she said. \u201cThey had cabins, they had three main houses with rooms in them. This was the place to come and feel like you were part of Greece.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the day she got out of school, Cecchini\u2019s family would drive up to Windham.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery summer, the last day of school we were in the car,\u201d she said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t go back to the city until Labor Day.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ggDSCF1534.jpg\")
Denise Cecchini, whose grandparents owned Windham\u2019s Sparta Manor resort, attends the annual Greek Festival. Roy Gumpel\/The Overlook. <\/p>\n
For Cecchini and Koundourakis, growing up in the resort community is what has brought them back to Windham year after year despite living out of the area. \u201cWe just have a love for this church,\u201d Koundourakis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, the aging congregation is a concern for Malegiannakis.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year it gets a little smaller,\u201d Malegiannakis said. \u201cWe\u2019re an aging community. We need youth, youth, youth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even fundraising can be difficult, with some years the church only raising enough to break even. But the show must go on, especially for the locals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAround 85% of our traffic is local,\u201d she said. \u201cThey wait all year. They want gyro, they want souvlaki, they want lamb. It\u2019s something you don\u2019t get every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, the traditions remain, largely through that same food that brings the locals back to the festival each year. Especially Koundourakis\u2019 kourabiedes.<\/p>\n
They are, indeed, her mother\u2019s recipe.\u00a0<\/p>\n