Coptic Orthodox Church in Ripon Hosts Annual Egyptian Cultural Festival

John Ramzy, 25, has come to know Ripon’s Egyptian Festival as a “taste of home.” For him, the event evokes memories of family gatherings in New Cairo, where they would grill barbecue and hold river parties along the Nile. Here, surrounded by the scent of seared kafta and the presence of the Coptic Orthodox church he has grown up around, it feels like he is back in Egypt. “It feels like we’re all part of that same family,” Ramzy said. “It feels like we’re in Egypt together, enjoying a nice little break.”

Since the early 2000s, the two-day festival has brought authentic Egyptian culture to Ripon, a city surrounded by farmland about 20 minutes south of Stockton. As the county’s only festival dedicated to Egyptian culture, it draws hundreds of attendees for their fill of stuffed grape leaves, sweet baklava, traditional Sa’idi stick dances, and guided tours of the church’s Coptic architecture. “Everything you see here, it reflects the Egyptian culture,” said Kerollos Hanna, a priest at the St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, which organizes the event.

Hanna, born in Egypt, serves as one of two priests at the church, whose congregation of about 80 families practices a faith rooted in ancient Egypt. The word “copt,” he explained, means Egyptian, deriving from the ancient Greek term for the country’s people. It eventually came to refer to Egypt’s Christian population. While census data estimates Egypt’s Christian population at 5%, some believe the figure may be higher, at 10%.

Hanna grew up in a small town similar in size to Ripon. Details like the highway cutting through the city mirror what he grew up with, making Ripon feel familiar. “Ripon itself reminds me of Egypt all the time,” Hanna said. “And the festival, it adds to that, I feel I am in Egypt.”

At the far end of the church’s grounds, Verina Gouda tends to a booth lined with Egyptian wares. Like Ramzy, she started volunteering at the festival as a preteen, helping wherever she was needed, from the dessert stand that serves treats like baklava and kunafa to church tours. But the booth she tends today has become her main post. Known as the festival’s bazaar, it is where attendees can find items brought over from Cairo, including papyrus prints depicting Egyptian hieroglyphs that line the shop’s ceiling. In 2022, Gouda was able to visit Egypt for the first time, having been born in the U.S. to parents who had immigrated decades ago. After that visit, she said she was able to connect what she saw in Egypt to the festival.

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