The annual Egyptian Festival at St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Ripon is best known for fun, food and tradition, all wrapped up in one.

Since 2003, Nadia Azer has led in making many of the delicious Egyptian cuisine, including kebabs, gyros, dolma and many of the sweet treats.

She’s always looking for support, in particular, putting together the grape leaves. “It’s very time consuming,” Azer said.

That labor of love attracts folks from the Bay Area, Sacramento and the surroundings areas of the Central Valley to make their way to Ripon for this special three-day event scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 27 through 29.

Admission is free. The community is invited.

St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church is located at 315 Orange Ave.

The facility just expanded in time for the Egyptian Festival ’19.

According to Wahid Azer – he’s the retired engineer husband of Nadia Azer and active church member – the home next door to the church was purchased, opening up more space for festival goers to sit back, relax and enjoy live Egyptian music while eating shawarma, beef or chicken kabobs, and falafel.

Vegetable dishes are also available.

He noted that the church has grown substantially in the past two years, going from three families to about 100.

The festival is St. Mark Coptic’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

“This is our big celebration,” Wahid Azer said. “It’s a chance for people to share in our activities and culture.”

Besides food and music, Egyptian Festival ’19 will feature those in traditional clothing – the church’s boutique offering traditional Egyptian garment will be open – along with the Pharaoh photo studio, souvenirs, henna tattoos, face painting, and games for the children.

A tour of the church grounds and the raffle are also included in the indoor / outdoor festivities.

For more information, call 925.357.7555 or 209.599.3310.