Memorial Day weekend gets a decidedly Greek accent in the Valley, thanks to the 35th annual Greek festival taking place in Northridge May 24-26.

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church hosts the festivities for upwards of 50,000 savvy visitors who know that you don’t have to cross the Atlantic to get a true taste of the Mediterranean.There’s free admission, music, dancing, cooking demonstrations, church tours, games and children’s activities. Above all, there’s bountiful food, prepared from scratch by the church ladies and served by hundreds of volunteers.

Besides the familiar gyros and beef kebabs, the menu includes loucanico (grilled Greek sausage), moussaka (eggplant, potato and ground beef casserole), pastitsio (Greek lasagna with béchamel sauce) and spanakopita (spinach and cheese pie).

And who comes to devour such savories? “It’s a lovely mix of LA that comes,” said festival co-chair Charlotte McCarty. “We have a little bit of everything for everybody.”

Greek Valley girl Erinn Eichinger has been attending the festival for 30 years. “The only reason I go is for the food,” said Eichinger, a food writer and publisher of the Sunday Dish (www.sundaydish.typepad.com) blog. “I get nostalgic every time I go. There’s great food in a great community atmosphere. It doesn’t feel commercial at all. “The food is prepared with love by hand. You get a sense that people really care about the quality of the food and serve you like family,” said Eichinger.

Savories are available a la carte for $7 or as dinner entrees for $13.50. Save room for dessert because they’ve baked up more than 48,000 traditional pastries. Opa! —Andrea Adleman

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 9501 Balboa Blvd., Northridge. May 24-26. Sat.-Mon., 1-9pm. Free admission. www.valleygreekfestival.com