Sitting under a picnic pavilion at St. Anthony Maronite Church yesterday, 8-year-old Amanda Nguyen tried a grape leaf stuffed with rice, spices and finely-chopped beef.

Picking it up between her thumb and forefinger, Amanda bit the end off as if it were a cigar.

"It tastes like a leaf," her sister, Jessica Nguyen, 6, said.

They had already polished off a plate of marinated beef shish kebab and rice pilaf, allowing them to partake from an assortment of pastries accented with powdered sugar and honey.

Dan Dennis chased his 5-year-old daughter, Eliza, through the church's 15-acre grounds during their first visit to this weekend's Lebanese Food Festival. They also tried the stuffed grape leaves.

"I ate four of them, so I liked them," Dennis said before returning to a large white tent to browse the other offerings at booths. .

James Bowen and Louis B. Massad, both of Lebanese descent, made the trip from Fredericksburg with their wives to attend the western Henrico County church's 24th annual fundraiser. After lunching on beef shawarma , baked kibbe, roasted lamb and hummus, they planned to take more dishes home and to their children.

"The food is very nicely prepared," said Massad's wife, Jay.

"It's authentic," Bowen said.

Ray Khoury was among several hundred church parishioners working at the festival.

"We enjoy it so much," Khoury said. "The food is so fresh and good. Some of the sweets you can't get all year, so the only way to get them is at the festival."

At the falafel booth, Tony Eljor shaped patties of ground chickpeas and fava beans and dropped them in hot oil to fry. Sam Haboush and Michael Chaoul then gently pressed the browned falafel into pita bread and topped the sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes, turnips and sesame tahini sauce.

Nawal Makhlouf, who supervised the on-site assembly of katayf, sweet pastries filled with cream, nuts or cheese, said the preparation of some dishes begins in February, while others like the tabouli, hummus and baba ghanouj must be made in the last few days.

Chet G. Wade, the festival's publicity chairman, took a break from serving stuffed cabbage and squash to distribute and collect surveys from festival attendees. About 20,000 people are expected to attend the three-day festival, which also includes live performances of traditional Lebanese music and dancing.

"The overwhelming majority said either it's perfect or to do it two times a year," Wade said. "We seem to be getting more people. It's busier than last year."

Contact Melodie N. Martin at (804) 649-6290 or mmartin@timesdispatch.com.