2024 Miss Greek Independence to Appear at Largest Greek Festival in New Jersey
May 18th at 6 pm at St. Geoge Greek Orthodox Church in Piscataway, NJ
Piscataway, NJ: St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Piscataway, NJ is excited to welcome 2024 Miss Greek Independence, Katerina Karadrikas, to our 51st Annual Festival on Saturday, May 18th at 6 pm. Ms. Karadrikas will be spending time at the Festival, visiting the various stations, watching our award-winning dance groups, and will be available for photo ops. St. George Greek Orthodox Church is located at 1101 River Road, Piscataway, NJ.
Ms. Karadrikas was crowned 2024 Ms. Greek Independence on March 30, 2024, from a field of 12 contestants. “I have always wanted to be Miss Greek Independence to represent young Greek women in America, and to help boost the culture of Greece in America,” Ms. Karadrikas said. “The experience thus far has been inspiring, having this amazing title. I hope to continue to promote our heritage and create events throughout this year to get Greek Americans together to celebrate our amazing country of Greece. I have made a fantastic group of friends throughout this process of Miss Greek Independence, and I have met so many wonderful people that have helped shape our community.” The annual competition celebrates intellect and cultural heritage as the competition highlights the contestants’ knowledge and connection to Greek heritage and the Greek-American Community.
Katerina Karandrikas aspires to become a lawyer, majoring in Legal Studies and is a first year student at St. John’s University in Queens, NY. She had been a very active member of the St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Piscataway, NJ GOYA, Greek School and Sunday School and is still actively involved in the Arkadi Cretan Youth of NJ, where she holds the position of Historian on the Executive Board. Katerina is also an active member of the St. John’s University Greek Club.
As the largest Greek community in central Jersey with over 800 families, St. George Greek Orthodox Church Annual Greek Festival kicks-off Greek Festival Season in New Jersey and attracts upwards of 15,000 patrons annually to celebrate all things Greek. 2024 Festival dates are: Thursday, May 16 from 4 – 9 pm; Friday, May 17, from 11 am – 11 pm; Saturday, May 18th, from 11 am – 12 am/midnight and Sunday, May 19th, from 12 – 8 pm. Join us to experience our legendary hospitality, “kefi”, and homemade Greek foods and desserts.
A 501 (c)3 non-profit, St. George Greek Orthodox church was founded in 1916, to tend to the spiritual needs of the New Brunswick-area Greek community. It also serves to sustain and perpetuate the Greek culture through its youth programming, Greek language and religion classes, its Annual Festival, and traditional Greek folk dancing program, as well as support community involvement through its many organizations such as the Philoptochos-St. Barbara Chapter, PTO, Senior Citizens, Cretans Fraternity, St. George Knitting Group and chapters of the American Hellenic Education Progressive Association (AHEPA) and Daughters of Penelope.
