Time for Lebanese treats at Our Lady of the Cedars festival in Fairlawn Aug. 4-5

Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
Updated ·1 min read
Stuffed grape leaves are on the menu at the Lebanese Festival at Our Lady of the Cedars.
Stuffed grape leaves are on the menu at the Lebanese Festival at Our Lady of the Cedars.

Break out the falafel and the fatayeh.

It's time for the Lebanese Festival again, which will run from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Our Lady of the Cedars Maronite Catholic Church at 507 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road in Fairlawn.

Guests enjoy Lebanese specialties from the savory to the sweet each year at this volunteer-run event. Volunteers prepare and freeze food for months ahead of the festival.

Our Lady of the Cedars parish priest Ronald Eid helps prepare food for the upcoming Lebanese Festival in Fairlawn.
Our Lady of the Cedars parish priest Ronald Eid helps prepare food for the upcoming Lebanese Festival in Fairlawn.

What's on the Lebanese Festival menu

The large menu includes tabbouleh salad ($6), hummus, shawarma, falafel, meat or spinach fatayer pies ($5), and stuffed grape leaves ($8.50). Roll-ups include chicken tawook ($9), beef shawarma ($10) and falafel ($8), with the latter being a vegan option featuring crispy fried balls of ground chickpeas and spices with vegetables and tahini sauce.

Fatayeh pies are offered in meat and spinach varieties at the Lebanese Festival in Fairlawn.
Fatayeh pies are offered in meat and spinach varieties at the Lebanese Festival in Fairlawn.

Vegetarian green beans ($10) also will be offered, cooked with onions and garlic in tomato sauce and served with rice and pita bread.

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Guests can dine indoors or out, where grilling also will be happening for selections including shish kabob ($20). Four varieties of flatbread ($7-$8) will be cooked on a saj grill, which is an old-style dome metal griddle.

Desserts include nine varieties of Lebanese pastries priced at $3 each and booza, which is Lebanese ice cream.

Activities will include music, a raffle, henna, kids' games and hookah smoking. For more information, see Our Lady of the Cedars Lebanese Festival on Facebook or call 330-666-3598.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Lebanese Festival Akron Ohio: Aug. 4 and 5 at Our Lady of the Cedars