Zakat Foundation of America: Recap on The Turkish Festival in Chicago
Article Reference: Zakat Foundation of America (ZFA)
Zakat Foundation of America hosted a 3-day festival spearheaded by Chicago-based companies with diverse events showcasing Türkiye, Turkish culture. It was a festival dedicated to celebrating Turkish culture in Chicago, treating visitors to a flurry of traditional attractions, from theater to culinary delights and booming military band tunes.
Spearheaded by the Zakat Foundation, a charitable group based in the US city but active around the world, the three-day Turkish Festival took place in the western Village of Rosemont. Opening remarks were made by Halil Demir, one of the founders of the event’s committee.
ZFA Chicago: Turkish Festival Itinerary, Opening Speeches, and more
Anadolu was the global communication partner of the event, in which a team of whirling dervishes will be performing the famous Sufi dance known as the Sama on its first day. Looking back on that feature, a theatrical was displayed by the Turkish group, Theater Kulliyen, along with a speech on Türkiye’s economic growth by the country's presidential Investment Office. A screening of the acclaimed Turkish film, Ayla: The Daughter of War, was a part of it. It told the story of a Turkish sergeant and a five-year-old orphan girl that he found on the battlefield during the Korean War in 1950.
“It is one of our hopes that the Turkish Festival will attract a large crowd,” Demir told Anadolu ahead of the opening events. “Not only will they learn about Turkish culture and the hope that Türkiye gives, but also experience a small piece of Türkiye.” Hopefully, that piece of Türkiye leaves a great impression that invites them to visit the beautiful home we call Türkiye,” he had added.
The event has been planned as the largest festival for Turkish culture in Chicago so far, with about 230 stands set up on its grounds, including by companies, charities, and other non-governmental organizations from the US’ Turkish and Muslim communities, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
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