The Toronto Turkish Festival is organized by the Canadian Turkish Friendship Community (CTFC) to celebrate

Turkish culture The culture of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Kültürü) combines a heavily diverse and heterogeneous set of elements that have been derived from the various cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, Caucasia, Middle East and Central Asia ...

through

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, shows and

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

. Since August 2006, during the first weekend of August in downtown

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, at Toronto's Yonge and Dundas Square, the festival is supported and encouraged by the City of Toronto, local counselors, and appreciated by the

mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

, the local

police chief The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

s, the Canadian business community, and Yonge & Dundas Square management.(1) The festival is sponsored by Turkish and international companies such as North America

Energy Star Energy Star (trademarked ''ENERGY STAR'') is a program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that promotes energy efficiency. The program provides information on the energy consumption of pro ...

(NAES) and

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...

(THY), as well as Turkish municipalities such as

Fatih Fatih () is a district of and a municipality (''belediye'') in Istanbul, Turkey, and home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the governor's office, police headquarters, metropolitan municipality and tax office) but not the co ...

Municipality,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

and the

Çorum Çorum () (Medieval Greek: Ευχάνεια, romanized: Euchaneia) is a northern Anatolian city that is the capital of the Çorum Province of Turkey. Çorum is located inland in the central Black Sea Region of Turkey, and is approximately from ...

Municipality.(2) The first one was successfully held, as over 40,000 people participated in the festivities on August 5, 2006. David Miller, Mayor of Toronto, visited the Turkish community during the Festival. CTFC was encouraged and advised by Miller to extend the event to a two-day festival. On the dates of 4–5 August 2007; on 2–3 August 2008, and on 1–2 August 2009; CTFC successfully organized the Turkish Festival; securing its position as a traditional annual celebration and festivity. Almost hundred thousand people from Canadian-Turkish communities and from other communities and cultures around GTA as well as from neighbouring cities, provinces and U.S states, have visited the festival. The festival is open to the public, and the entrance is free. All funds raised from the festival have been donated to Nil Academy- Turkish School in Toronto which was opened by the Canadian Turkish Friendship Community in 2005.(5) CTFC is devoted to the promotion of Turkish culture and

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

in Toronto and in Canada as a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

and

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

since its beginning in 2005. One of its objectives is to contribute to

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

communities in terms of promoting intercultural events, and supporting

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

al and cultural activities open to the public. The festival has featured demonstrations of distinctive traditional Turkish crafts, such as paper water marbling (Ebru), and carpet

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

. There are live

Turkish music The music of Turkey includes mainly Turkic and Byzantine elements as well as partial influences ranging from Ottoman music, Middle Eastern music and Music of Southeastern Europe, as well as references to more modern European and American popula ...

al performances and folk dancing, including

Sufi music Sufi music refers to the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrow, and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. Qawwali is the best-known form of Sufi music and is most commonly found in the ...

and

dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

. The niche tasting experience during the festival includes drinking some specialty

Turkish tea Tea ( ) is a popular drink throughout Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. Turkey has the highest per capita tea consumption in the world with an annual total consumption of close to 7 pounds per person. Turkey is a large exporter of tea, ranking fif ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

in our re-created traditional family room (Sark Kosesi-“Eastern Türkiye Corner”), as you sit on beautiful Turkish

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester hav ...

s and

cushion A cushion is a soft bag of some ornamental material, usually stuffed with wool, hair, feathers, polyester staple fiber, non-woven material, cotton, or even paper torn into fragments. It may be used for sitting or kneeling upon, or to soften th ...

s in our tiny oasis in the heart of the city, and be taken a picture with traditional Ottoman costumes, Other highlights include displays of handcrafted

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

s, clothing, and carpets, decorative accessories, hand-painted ceramic plates and tiles,

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

crafts,

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

scarves,

pillowcase A pillow is a support of the body at rest for comfort, therapy, or decoration. Pillows are used in different variations by many species, including humans. Some types of pillows include throw pillows, body pillows, decorative pillows, and man ...

s, books on Turkish life, culture, cooking and travel, and CDs of traditional and other popular, Turkish

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

music.(8)

Ottoman Military Band Ottoman military bands are the oldest recorded military marching band in the world. Though they are often known by the word ''Mehter'' ( ota, مهتر, plural: مهتران ''mehterân''; from "senior" in Persian) in West Europe, that word, pr ...

came for the first time in Toronto with 22 team members who were supported by the Municipality of Fatih, Istanbul. The visitors were entertained with four different

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

s on August 1–2, 2009, as the band also walked with the Turkish community four times during the two–day-festival; marking the first Turkish

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

ever in Toronto at Yonge and Dundas. This Band, which accompanied the marching Ottoman army into battles for centuries, still echoes in the sounds of

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

and

zurna The zurna (Armenian language, Armenian: զուռնա zuṙna; Classical Armenian, Old Armenian: սուռնայ suṙnay; Albanian language, Albanian: surle/surla; Persian language, Persian: karna/Kornay/surnay; Macedonian language, Macedonian: з ...

- an

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

-like

woodwind instrument Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Reed ...

- which is a part of folk culture all over Türkiye.(10)

References

# - Canadian Turkish Friendship Community. (2010). Cultural. Toronto Turkish Festival. Retrieved fro

# - Today's Zaman, (2008).Canadians, Turks make merry at Toronto Turkish Festival. 4 August 2008. Retrieved fro

# - The Toronto Star. (2007). Turkish festival saved city from Caribana troublemaker, Retrieved fro

# - Toronto Turkish Festival, (2009). History. Retrieved fro

# - Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto (2006). Turkish Festival 5 August 2006. Retrieved fro

# - Canadian Turkish Friendship Community. (2009). Retrieved fro

# - The Toronto Star. (2007). Nick Aveling. Newest Raptor sets city's Turks aglow Toronto community overjoyed to hear of NBA star's choice to play north of the border. 15 July 2009. Retrieved fro

# - Toronto Turkish Festival, (2010). Entertainment. Retrieved fro

# - Toronto Turkish Festival, (2010). Food. Retrieved fro

# - Toronto Turkish Festival. (2010). Press Info. Retrieved fro

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