2024 St. George Middle Eastern Festival • See you July 13 & 14, 2024 •

1250 Oakdale Avenue • West Saint Paul, MN • 55118 

Pre-Purchase Selected Bake Sale Items NOW for the 2024 Festival! 

The 14th Annual St. George Middle Eastern Festival!

Saturday July 13, 2024 • Noon – 10 pm

Sunday July 14, 2024 • Noon – 6 pm

Highlight Video

Middle Eastern Pastries – Indoor Bake Sale

We learned from our mothers, who learned from their mothers before them.  This traditional style of baking has been passed down many generations, and originated in the small Christian villages of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine.

The way many of the cookies are prepared is filled with some of the rich symbolism and deep meaning that defines our familial and spiritual ancestors in the Christian Levant.  For instance, cookies called Kahk ib Timir (date cookies) are traditionally prepared round with a hollow center and decorated to remind us of the crown of thorns that Jesus Christ wore:

The Mamoul cookie stuffed with dates, pistachios or walnuts, is prepared in the shape of a sponge to remind us of the sponge that the soldier gave Christ to drink from when He was on the Cross:

More of Our Baked Goodies:

Baklawa

Ground walnuts and sugar nestled in between individually buttered sheets of fillo dough.  Topped with a homemade syrup.  Fat free and calorie free (Not really).

Ghraybee

The Middle Eastern butter cookie.  They are tasty and beware, addicting.

Mamoul

Stuffed with dates, walnuts or pistachios.

These and many more varieties of delicious Middle Eastern Pastries await you at our festival!

Our Famed Farani Bread

Farani  is at least as old as St. George Parish and certainly much older.  This traditional round loaf of bread has been prepared by us from the same old country recipe for over 100 years.  Generations have passed down the tradition, and when it comes time to bake Farani, St. George parishioners come out in droves to celebrate this ancient tradition.

It is prepared nearly around the clock for several days leading up to our festival, our church dinners and other occasions.

Farani…What does it mean?  The word Furin means stove or bakery, and the word Faran means baker.  So, this special bread that was prepared by the baker was eloquently named Farani, or the baker’s bread.  Prepared with loving care, it starts with the purest flour and water and a special mixture of other old-country ingredients known only to the Ladies of St. George.

It is soft, it is fresh, and it is absolutely delicious. It can be eaten plain, used for sandwiches, eaten with special lebanee spread, or used to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (don’t tell mom).

See You at the Festival Bake Sale!