OLEAN, N.Y. — When St. Joseph’s Church in Olean held its first “Mahrajan” celebration 80 years ago, it was a simple church picnic with food, lawn games, music, folk dancing and women performing belly dances with modesty and grace.
This year’s 80th event, scheduled from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday at St. Joseph’s Church at 1102 Walnut St., will include Lebanese food, American and Polish food, games of chance, raffles, a big 50-50, children’s activities, and of course, belly dancing, said Lisa Zlockie, spokesperson.
Zlockie said the Mahrajan, which is Lebanese for festival and is pronounced mah-ra-jon, was open only to church members during its early years in Olean.
“As the members of the church eventually married outside of the Lebanese nationality, the church grew and so did the festival,” Zlockie explained. “The non-Lebanese got a taste of our cuisine and experienced our customs and hospitality and they were hooked.”
Over the years, the Mahrajan was held in a variety of locations in Olean such as Riverhurst Park, Gargoyle Park, the church grounds on North Fourth Street, War Veterans Park and now at its current site on Walnut Street. She said the event took on a carnival style in the 1970s, with entertainers brought in from New York City, New Jersey and Ohio to perform.
Perhaps the most notable local celebrity was the late Tullah Hanley of Bradford, Pa., who was a well-known dancer “who graced the stage of the festival.”
Zlockie said belly dancing at the festival is a time-honored tradition, passed down from generation to generation. One of the current dancers is Zlockie’s daughter, Erin, who is a fifth-generation performer.
“She has been dancing since age 3,” Zlockie said of her daughter. In addition to dancing, music will be provided by Alex Cole, a member of St. Joseph’s Church who plays with Trigger Happy, the featured band at the event. In addition, Paul Sawaya will provide the DJ music.
As for the cuisine, there will be plenty available at the festival.
“The food we present at the festival comes from the recipes of our ancestors, our grandmothers’ siti, sitoo and sitee (dishes) from various cities in Lebanon — mainly Zahle, Lebanon, in the Bekaa Valley where they immigrated from in the early 1900s,” Zlockie stated.
The food for the current festival is prepared by descendants who include Ann Marie Wright, Don Hamed and JoAnn Snyder. On Friday they were found making kibbee, a Lebanese meatloaf.
“We use ground chuck, bulgur wheat, onions, spices and pine nuts,” Wright said while preparing the kibbee in preparation for baking it. “It’s delicious.”
Wright said all of the volunteers have special dishes that they make for the event. For example, Hamed makes hummus for the festival, while Snyder and Wright bake and cook a variety of dishes that include baklava, beef kabob and chicken kabob, fatayer-spinach pie and grape leaves. Also on the menu will be kielbasa, lazy pierogi, pita bread, rice and tabouli. Hot-dogs, water and soda pop will also be sold.
The Rev. Anthony Salim, pastor of St. Joseph’s, was on-hand to help with food preparation for the event which benefits the church.
“I always tell people you can buy hummus at (the grocery store), but why not come to the people who invented it,” Salim said with a grin.
