The Greek Baking Brigade keeps rolling on.

After all, it takes time to make and bake 35,000 pieces of the Church of the Annunciation’s popular Greek pastry that will again be a co-feature during the 28th annual Cranston Greek Festival from Sept. 6-8 at the Church of the Annunciation, 175 Oaklawn Avenue, Cranston.

Ah, 35,000 pieces of Greek pastry?

“We’ve been baking for weeks,” said Koula Rougas, who has been co-chairing the Pastry Committee since 1989. “It takes a lot of time – and hands – hands to do all our baking for the festival.”

If you like Baklava, you’d better not wait until late Sunday afternoon on Sept. 8 to make a purchase, as Rougas said, “That’s our most popular item in the Greek Pastry Shoppe.”

When asked just how many pieces of Baklava the Greek Baking Brigade will make, Rougas answered, “Six thousand pieces!”

And the Baklava, which is chopped walnuts and layers of buttered phyllo dough topped with Greek honey syrup, is just one of a dozen items that will be on sale at the Greek Pastry Shoppe.

The Greek Baking Brigade, which was once made up of just women from the Greek Orthodox Church, now consists of men, women and children.

During a recent three-hour plus baking night, more than 40 volunteers turned Demetrakas Hall’s spacious dining room into a kitchen while they made Kourabiedes (butter cookies blanketed with confectionary sugar) and Melomakarona – also known as Finakia, which are honey cookies with fragrant spices, Geek honey syrup and sprinkled walnuts.

“It all starts with making the dough,” Rougas said while pointing to a group of women who sat at long banquet-style tables rolling and shaping the Kourabiedes and Melomakarona after she and her longtime chairperson Roula Proyous had finished making another fresh batch of dough. “Then you have to bake the cookies.”

On this night, the baking was done by Gus Proyous, Roula’s husband, who was assisted by longtime Church of the Annunciation volunteer Kevin Phelan.

There are actually four steps for each of the different cookies that Rougas and Proyous’ all-volunteer baking brigade will continue to make until the Cranston Greek Festival opens at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6.

Rougas said the Greek Pastry Shoppe will have 3,000 pieces of Kourabiedes and another 2,500 pieces of Melomakarona on sale during this year’s festival.

She also offered a brief rundown and description of caloric creations that will be on sale at the Greek Pastry Shoppe during the three-day festival, which annually attracts people from all parts of Rhode Island as well as Massachusetts and Connecticut.

“We’ll also have lots of Rizogalo,” Rougas said of what is known as grandmother’s classic Greek version of traditional rice pudding topped with cinnamon. “The rice pudding is always sold out by the time Sunday rolls around.”

Rougas said some people “don’t even wait to take it home; they get a cup of Greek coffee, then sit down and listen to the music while enjoying the rice pudding.”

The Greek Pastry Shoppe will also feature Galaktoboureko (layers of buttered phyllo dough filled with custard and glazed with Greek honey syrup); Diples (fried strips of thin, flaky dough topped with chopped walnuts, cinnamon and Greek honey syrup); and Karidopita (Greek walnut honey cake glazed with Greek honey syrup).

Rougas said there will also be plenty of Koulourakia (one dozen traditional coffee cookies of crisp butter dough, with or without sesame seeds. Macaroons, a coconut cookie, will also be on sale along with Loukoumades (deep-fried dough balls topped with cinnamon, honey and chopped nuts. The list is completed by the doughboys.

When asked if she has a favorite, Rougas said, “All of them. But I really enjoy the Kourabiedes. I also really enjoy the Koulourakia,” she said, pausing before continuing, “the Diples are our number one seller. And that’s because they go so quickly.”

For the more than 200 volunteers who will make up the Cranston Greek Festival’s work force, it’s simply a labor of love, especially for Rougas and Proyous.

“I want to help my church,” Rougas said. “It’s important for everyone to work hard for the festival, that’s how our church survives.”

Rougas said there’s another reason why she dedicates so much time to the festival, as she works year-round on it.

“It’s important to expose our Greek culture and traditions,” she said. “It’s especially important for the younger members of our church. We are all very proud of our Greek heritage, and the festival.”

The Festival hours are: Friday, from 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, from 12 to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, from 12 to 9 p.m.