CTCA announces festival to mark Turkish Cypriot culture and history on 25 June next month
The first annual Turkish Cypriot Cultural Festival will be held on the first day of Eid next month.
In what marks the first of a series of events this year to mark the 100th year of Cypriot migration to the UK, the Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations in the UK (CTCA-UK) will hold the event between 11am and 6pm at Chingford Rugby Club on Sunday 25 June.
CTCA-UK chair Leyla Kemal said all 300,000 estimated Turkish Cypriots living in the UK were invited to the event.
She said her organisation was an umbrella group that aimed to bring together all Turkish Cypriot associations under one roof and that the event would be an opportunity for everyone – even if they are not CTCA-UK members – to attend and get to know one another.
“Over the past century we Cypriots have migrated to other countries, created little Cypruses there, and remained upstanding through our artistic, cultural and trade organisations, and our football clubs.”
Ms Kemal added that they were particularly seeking the support of local businesses so that the festival was carried out in a manner that befitted the UK’s Turkish Cypriot community and Cyprus as a whole.
Among those taking the stage at the festival will be Bora Serbülent, Arif Edizer and the legendary group SOS. There will also be stands promoting Cyprus’s cuisine, history and touristic, social and cultural values.
Admittance will to the event, which will also include a children’s play area, will be free.
The 1st annual Turkish Cypriot Culture Festival takes place at Chingford Rugby Club, Lea Valley Playing Fields, London, E4 8AQ between 11am and 6pm on Sunday 25 June.
