Thousands of Western New Yorkers have experienced the joy of coming to the Annual Hellenic Heritage Festival and indulging in all of the delicious food its vendors have to offer. The volunteers are hard at work every year providing exceptional service as well as quality in their food. Some of the dishes showcased nclude souvlaki, gyros, soutzoukakia, pastitso, moussaka, spanakopita, tiropita, and the famous flaming cheese saganaki. Did you know that every single pastry at this year’s festival is made from scratch? The volunteers at the Greek Church of the Annunciation have been diligently working for months to provide authentic Greek pastries for everyone to enjoy. I’ve witnessed first hand all of the time and energy that goes into the baking. Some of these delectable desserts include baklava, kataifi ek mek, koulourakia, kourambiedes, loukomades, melomakarona, tsourekia, and rizogalo. There will be a live band playing continuous Greek music all three days, and the professional dance groups are talented and remarkable to watch. Along with Buffalo’s very own dance group, with dancers ranging in age from 8-16, this year’s festival welcomes a group from Toronto called Leventia X. The festival is also offering church tours, there are jewelry shops and clothing boutiques showcasing one-of-a-kind items from Greece, a wine room with imported wines from both Greece and Cyprus, and numerous cultural exhibits. The festival is filled with so much to do and see, take the time and experience the joy of the Greek culture for the day. If you really love it, come all three days. The Greek community would be glad to have you.

A new jazz age has dawned, and with it comes contemporary singer/songwriter Lizz Wright. Wright has been trained well—by years of gospel choir, vocal studies in college, and her time with groups such as In the Spirit—to use her amazingly eerie yet soothingly strong contralto voice. Inspiration for her latest album, The Orchard (Verve), comes from Wright’s childhood home of Hahira, Georgia, the interactions between neighbors and friends, and her overall personal experience. Tweaks here and there from eclectic guest musicians such as Toshi Reagon and Oren Bloedow, and guest vocalists including Catherine Russell and Marc Anthony Thompson (a.k.a. “Chocolate Genius”), help the album along without compromising the music’s purely organic, spiritual feel. The New York Times has praised her “pitch-perfect” voice and numerous critics have noted her stage presence and star quality, assets that make this new chanteuse a rising talent to watch. Now living in New York, Wright is positioned to become a major influence in the world of jazz, soul, and gospel. This event is one of the inaugural shows at Babeville’s 9th Ward, located in the recently renovated downstairs.

Buffalo burlesque babes the Stripteasers present an all-new musical comedy revue and dance extravaganza, combining their trademark satire and political savvy with sassy sex appeal and tongue-in-cheek humor. A rich source of entertainment and social commentary stemming from the mid-1800’s, the burlesque genre has seen a resurgence since its declining years in the 1960s, when this particular kind of gender representation became a rather touchy subject. Now understood to be both transgressive and intellectual as well as sexual, the burlesque tradition needn’t seem exploitive at all, but is rather an influential and attention-getting way to further political, social, and cultural ideals. The show will include striptease, as well as comedy, music, theater, and song. The four-year-old troupe has seen some performers come and go, and current members Mistress J, Madina Madis, and Ginger Gently welcome back founding Stripteaser Ava Lafey as a special guest for this performance. Performances by Devin Carmin, Shannin Allen, Kendall, and Randy Dickinger are also part of the spectacular show.

From the ashes of indie folk-pop outfit Page France comes the new project of that band’s primary songwriter Michael Nau. Trippy and mellow, the new act features material worked on with former Page France member Whitney McGraw, whose esoteric vocals float in and out on the unapologetically low-fi recordings. The band’s whole sound is bathed in reverb, from circular guitar patterns to smooth organ riffs and distant horns. Some cuts, including “Chewing Gum,” create a weird, hypnotic vibe reminiscent of the Doors, without the dark sense of danger. This date finds them smack in the middle of a 35-city tour that takes them from the eastern seaboard, through the breadbasket, along the Rust Belt and into Ontario, where they’ll be marketing their music directly to hip fans at shows, the only place you can buy it unless you visit the Web site of the band’s label, Quite Scientific. If that’s not enough to pull you out on a Wednesday night, consider the opening set by the Hammond Shutdown, featuring Matt Smith and Charley Gannon of legendary bar-rock band Scott Carpenter and the Real McCoys. Smith writes super-catchy tunes and delivers them with indescribable cool. Still, he’s yet to receive the full measure of respect he deserves on the local scene. Rounding out the night is a set by Confederates in the Attic. That, my friends, is a mad bargain at this admission price.