The Taste of Egypt couldn’t have gone better, organizers said Sunday.
The two-day weekend event, hosted by St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, is always something of a gamble this time of year. Between rainstorms and worse, the celebration of all things Egyptian has been iffy over the last 18 years.
But not this weekend, organizer Joe Moawad said. This weekend, the still-growing festival drew thousands of people from area Coptics eager to celebrate one of the oldest Coptic churches in the United States, to first-time guests, drawn in by camel rides, a petting zoo and, as the name would suggest, a taste of Egypt.
Moawad said that is the real point of the festival — a chance for neighbors to come and see another culture both ancient and familiar.
“For us the biggest reason is to reach out to the community and we don’t interact as much as we should and we want to welcome people in the neighborhood,” Moawad said.
Coptic Christians date to the first century AD in Egypt and, locally, they have been in the area since the 1950s, though the church was only built in the 1980s.
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Even so, Reem Nesseiah, another organizer, said many nonmembers have no idea who they are — despite operating one of the largest churches in Burr Ridge.
“We’re a massive building,” she said. “We a have huge presence, and I think there’s a general curiousness (among the community) about who are these people are. I’ve had people ask me, ‘why do you have two churches next to each other,’ and I said ‘it’s because were growing we have two simultaneous masses going just to accommodate all the people.”
Moawad said it’s not just the Burr Ridge church that’s a secret in plain sight.
“A lot of people don’t know there’s even Christianity in Egypt,” he said.
So, if it takes a camel to spread the word, so be it.
Laurie Hoffman, of Hinsdale, arrived with her daughter and granddaughter. It was their first time at the Taste, but she said her family was having a fine time.
“We came for the food and the camel, and we’re always up for a good time,” she said.
Thomas Harb, one of the volunteer tour guides for the weekend, said he’s gotten visitors from far and wide.
“We had a lot of people from around the area and a few people from out of state,” he said. “A lot of people come for the camel rides and the food.”
Another family, the Mistinas, drove in from Orland Park. They, too, brought a grandchild to see the pets and while the adults wanted to try the food, it was hard getting their ward away from repeated trips to the petting zoo and the various kids’ games on offer.
” (The food) is what we wanted to try,” said Steve Mistina said outside the petting zoo. “But with him around … “
His voice trailed off as he jogged away to keep tabs on his grandson who was already gone, off to explore the rest of Taste of Egypt.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.