Chicago Turkish Festival draws more than 10,000 people

By Ahmet Salih Alacaci

CHICAGO, US (AA) - Over 10,000 people attended a three-day festival celebrating Turkish culture in the US city of Chicago, drawn by traditional cuisine, art and theatrical performances.

“The response to our invitation was much more than our expectations. We are very pleased,” said Halil Demir, one of the founders of the committee for the event, which ended Sunday.

“In fact, we were able to bring so many people. We surpassed 10,000 people,” said Demir, adding they estimated that the number of visitors on the last day of the festival numbered in the thousands.

Demir, who is also the executive director of the charitable group that spearheaded the festival, the Zakat Foundation, said it was a “fantastic feeling that people responded to our call in that very short time.”

- Fostering cross-culture understanding

One of the festival’s special guests was Maryum Ali, the eldest daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. Calling the event “amazing,” she pointed to its role in bringing people of different backgrounds together.

“I just think it’s very important for all people, Muslims and non-Muslims, to understand other cultures, other belief systems, ethnicities, because the thinking mind is different in different places,” she said.

“It’s good to be tolerant. You want to be open to just know humanity, other parts of humanity,” she added, noting that the festival was “really beautiful” on that account.

Ali also said she had experienced Turkish culture before in a short visit to the country in 2019.

“We were only in Türkiye for two days, so I want to go back, at least for two weeks. It’s an electric, beautiful country. I enjoyed it so much,” she said.

Ali noted that at the festival, she met actors from Turkish television series who were also attending.

“I have to start watching it now because I met the actors,” she added.

Anadolu served as the global communication partner of the festival, where about 230 stands were set up at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center showcasing traditional art techniques such as water-marbling, copper working and woodblock printing.

It also featured performances on its last day by jazz flutist Kamilah Furqaan, Turkish musician Fatih Koca, Macedonian singer of Turkish descent Mesut Kurtis and Moldovan singer Leonida Timus.