With Houston’s Greek-American community growing, this year’s Greek festival on the grounds of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Montrose was a big show, with 14,000 marinated souvlaki skewers, 360 pans of Greek pastitchio noodle casserole, boxes full of so-sweet Greek pastries making it a food fest too.

“Everybody loves Greek food,” Jeff Rushing, Chairman of the festival’s organizing committee told The Houston Chronicle, saying that passion explains why it’s still popular in its 53d year., attracting as many as 40,000 people.

You can thank the yia-yias, the grandmothers who volunteer in the cathedral’s kitchen. “The yia-yias — everything is homemade,” said, Rushing, who is married to a Greek American and converted to Greek Orthodoxy, just like Tom Hanks.

“The church is the center of Greek community life in Houston; it is the hub of the activity,” Father Michael Lambakis, who is the dean of the Cathedral told the paper, anxious to show off a newly renovated building to people at the event.

A dome was added to the church and the building was expanded 20 feet to expand capacity from 425 to 1,000. “It’s almost a complete new church,” Lambakis said.