Anaheim, Calif. – The 40th Annual Folk Dance and Choral Festival for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco is off to a record-setting start with almost 3,000 registered participants. Ninety-eight dance groups and ten dance groups are participating from 34 parishes and nine states.

His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America will arrive today to partake in this 40th Anniversary of FDF, the largest gathering of Greek-Orthodox young people in the United States and arguably the largest youth festival of traditional Greek dancing in the world.

Opening Ceremonies began on Thursday, February 11 with the traditional parade of parishes, followed by the Agiasmos service led by His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos. Special guest Nia Vardalos, joined by fellow cast members Lainie Kazan and Gia Carides, from My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, chose FDF to launch the press tour to promote their new movie due out on March 25, 2016.

All the festivities can be accessed through Live Streaming available at www.yourfdf.org for a small subscription fee. Live Streaming will include two full days of competition, the broadcast of the Archieratical Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning celebrated by Archbishop Demetrios, the Awards Ceremony and special musical performances by Dimitris Mpasis and Master Tempo.

“Through the gift of technology, we can share the beauty of the FDF weekend from coast to coast and beyond,” stated Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco. “This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our faith and culture through the vibrant ministry of FDF.”

Competition starts at 8:00 a.m. both Friday and Saturday. Sign up for Live Stream now  www.yourfdf.org and join in celebrating the 40th Anniversary of FDF!