The Turkish Festivals are organized every summer in major cities across Canada with the support and partnership of Intercultural Dialogue Institute (IDI) and organizations such as Canadian Turkish Friendship Community (CTFC). These festivals aim to celebrate Turkish culture through music, exhibitions, arts, crafts, dance, shows and delicious food. Thousands of people from Canadian-Turkish community and from many other communities and cultures have visited the festivals in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Kitchener, and Hamilton. The festivals are sponsored by both Turkish and international companies such as North America Energy Star (NAES) and Turkish Airlines (THY), as well as Turkish municipalities such as Fatih and Çorum. On Saturday and Sunday, August 7th and 8th, 2010, The Turkish festival will be celebrated the fifth time in Canada’s history as an important contribution to the celebration of multiculturalism in Toronto.
“ It is fabulous to have Turkish community now visible and supporting our multi cultural city and country for better future”
David Miller, Mayor of Toronto
The Turkish festivals feature unique and fascinating demonstrations of distinctive traditional Turkish crafts, such as paper Ebru and carpet weaving. There are live Turkish musical performances and folk dancing, including Sufi music and dancing, with some specialty Turkish tea or coffee in our re-created traditional family room (Sark Kosesi-“Eastern Türkiye Corner”), as you sit on beautiful Turkish carpets and cushions in our tiny oasis in the heart of the city, and taken a picture with traditional Ottoman costumes, including dazzling displays of handcrafted linens, clothing, and carpets, decorative accessories, hand-painted ceramic plates and tiles, copper crafts, pottery, silk scarves, pillowcases, books on Turkish life, culture, cooking and travel, and CDs of traditional and other popular, rock and jazz Turkish music.
This wonderful event effectively brings Türkiye to Toronto, showcasing a rich cultural heritage while allowing visitors to sample fine Turkish cuisine from sumptuous kebabs to mouth-watering pastries. Visitors sample authentic Turkish food and pastries while enjoying original Turkish-style doner-kebabs, tantuni kebabs, shish kebabs and famous pita style sandwiches, along with
gozleme and bazlama, featuring tasty, lightly spiced chicken or beef. Side dishes are made right before your eyes using traditional baking methods, and will include specialty pastries such as baklava, dolma and sarma stuffed with vegetables, meat, or cheese delicacies fit for even the most discerning palate! Visitors taste the most delectable delights, along with authentic Turkish salads and a wide variety of other meals and baked goods.
Ottoman Military Band, supported by Municipality of Fatih, Istanbul, came for the first time in Toronto with 22 team members. The visitors were entertained with their unique four concerts in August, 2009. The band also walked with Turkish community four times in two days festival as the Turkish parade first time ever in Toronto at Yonge and Dundas. This Band, which for centuries accompanied the marching Ottoman army into battles, still echoes in that of drum and zurna – an oboe-like woodwind instrument – which is a part of folk culture all over Türkiye. Mehter music was a symbol of sovereignty and independence, and its ardent sounds instilled the soldiers with strength and courage (10).