For the price of admission, thousands came to McCoy Pavilion at Ala Moana Beach Park last weekend to be Greek.

Even if just for an hour or two, the sense of belonging and being joined by the love of one's culture bound people from Hawai'i Kai to 'Ewa Beach.

The 26th annual Greek Festival sported authentic beer and wine imported from Greece, live music and a dose of religion with a short presentation on icons by the Rev. Nicholas Gamvas.

This year featured live music from Fotia, a San Francisco Bay Area band specializing in Greek music onstage in the pavilion. In the garden was Sotos Kappas on his guitar.

David Haggith, a newcomer to Hawai'i, sat beneath a shady tree, taking in the music and planning his lunchtime food strategy.

"We wanted to come here because the Greeks are a close-knit family, and you always feel like you belong," said Haggith, who lives in Diamond Head.

His wife, Janet, was searching for a new Greek restaurant. "We came for the food," she said.

She wasn't the only one. The line in front of the gyros booth ebbed and flowed like the tide.

With a freshly made gyro in hand, Sherine Boomla, said she has come to the festival several years in a row.

"I like the food, the music and the dance," said Boomla, a Kailua resident.

Many of the food items and authentic beers and wines are imported just for the festival, said Austin Vali, who ran the taverna, or spirits booth.

About 4,500 people attended the festival on Saturday, and yesterday, event organizers The Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral 'ohana were expecting another 4,000 people.

"Each year the festival gets better," Vali said. "I've even see familiar faces from years before. The festival gives people a chance to be Greek for a day."

There's no better setting than McCoy Pavilion; with its ponds, fountains, artwork and open air, it's like being in Greece, Vali said.

The festival raises money for the church. Money has gone toward construction of the church, paying off the mortgage and a new roof. Now it's a fundraising tradition.

Catherine Bukes has volunteered at all 26 festivals. A member of the church, she commands the baklava brigade that churns out tray after tray of the delicate dessert.

Ruthie Ehrhorn, who sported an apron that said "Greek Goddess," has been involved with the baking for so long, she's forgotten exactly how many festivals she has worked. But the charm never wears thin, she said. She always takes time to walk around McCoy Pavilion and imagine what it's like in a Greek village.

"There are so many parallels between the Greek culture and the Hawaiian culture," Ehrhorn said. "In Hawaiian, they call it aloha; in Greek they say yasou."

Vicki Shiroma said she's been helping for years with the ladies who do most of the baking. This year, they made 9,000 pieces of baklava.

"The most important part of the festival is the fellowship among all of us, the old-timers and the newcomers," Shiroma said.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.