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Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival

From the need of a festival with Turkic taste in Houston, Raindrop Foundation proudly sponsors and organizes splendid event; Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival . This big event will be the first of its kind in Texas which aims to introduce mosaic of Turkic cultures not only Turkish but also Turkmen, Kazakh, Azerbaijan, Uzbek and Kirghiz.

Date: September 8-9, 2007 Days: Saturday and Sunday Time: 1 pm - 10pm

Location: City Hall - Herman Square, Houston, TX

Admission: $5 for adults and free for children under 12. Tickets are for sale in Raindrop Turkevi offices in local chapter and at the festival entrance.

Houston Turkish Festival, Turkevi, Turkish Cultural Center

Ottoman Military Band Marched in Dallas (video)

The oldest military band, Ottoman Military Band marched in Dallas. Band is from Inegol, a Bursa district in

Turkey

. They are the first civilian military band which was founded in 1959. Since that time they are performing in different parts of both

Turkey

and world. Raindrop Turkevi cosponsored event was held in White Rock Lake in Dallas. Event was started afternoon at 6 pm and continued for 2 hours. Around four hundred people were present during the marching. Both kids and adults enjoyed Ottoman Military Band concert and marching by eating their barbeque. Even some Turkish people were watching Ottoman Military band for the first time in which audiences cried while watching the performance. One of the audiences from Turkish community in Dallas expressed his emotions that this was the best event ever organized in Dallas by Turkish communities which helped us to remember our roots both for us and also for our children. He thanked Raindrop Foundation to organize such an event and wished to attend such events in future. (September, 1, 2007, Dallas)

Houston Turkish Festival

First Time in Texas :Historical Ottoman Military Band will perform in several Texas cities

Ottoman Military Band, “mehter (mahtar)”, visits and performs not only in Houston during the Turkic Cultures and Children’s Festival but also in some other Texas cities such as Dallas, San Antonio, College Station and Austin.

Raindrop Turkevi , Turkish Cultural Center, is proud to bring this important historic band to Texas and would like to share with you the following performance program of the Ottoman Military Band:

Dallas , September 1, 2007 |6-8:00 pm White Rock Lake Stone Tables,
San Antonio , September 2, 2007 | 4:00pm – 8:00pm The Alamo Plaza Gazebo
San Antonio, September 3, 2007 | 1:00 - 3:30 pm The Alamo Plaza Gazebo 4.00 - 6.00 pm Arneson River Theatre
Austin September 4, 2007 | 12:30 pm South Steps of Capital Building, 6:00 pm University of Texas at Austin
College Station September 6, 2007 | 11:00am – 1:0 pm TAMU - Corps Plaza
Houston, September 7, 2007 | 12:00 -01:00 pm at Rice University, Ray Courtyard, Ley Student center (37).
Houston, September 7, 2007 | 07:30 -09:00 pm at Downtown Aquarium

Houston Turkish Festival

Ayna Rock Band in Dallas

Ayna Rock Band arrived to Dallas on evening of August, 27. They were met at DFW International Airport by Raindrop Turkevi members and lead them to the Dallas office for dinner. They enjoyed Mediterranean cuisine and also home made dessert. After the meal, Dallas Raindrop Turkevi Director Dr. Ercetin talked briefly about activities of Foundation. Soloist of Band Erhan Guleryuz, expressed himself that he was surprised about activities of Raindrop Foundation in Texas, even though he has seen only Dallas office yet. He continued: to organize such a festival in US needs great effort; therefore, I was affected so much. Guests were excited staying under JR's office in Dallas Movie which was watched in Turkey with admiration. Band just loved Dallas and was very grateful for hospitality shown by Raindrop members. (August, 29, 2007 Dallas)

Houston Turkish Festival

Condolence for the victims of our neighbor, Greece

As the Turkish-American community, we are saddened by the tragic fire in Greece, our centuries-old neighbor, that has left 51 people dead and threatening areas near ancient Olympia, historic site of the first Olympic Games. It is heartbreaking to have seen what happened to those innocent people. Our hearts go to the families of the victims and we hope that they find the strength and the patience to go through this very difficult time.

The Art of Mehmet Gürsoy.

Turkish ceramic artist Mehmet Gursoy exhibits his work in Houston, Texas.
Date and Time: September 8 – 9.
Location: Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival , 900 Smith St. Houston, TX 77002.
"Mehmet Gürsoy, teacher and entrepreneur, paints with delicate finesse, accepting then breaking the rules and he has set the new standard, becoming the leader, most artists choose subtly to follow" "Prof. Henry Glassie (chairman of Department of Folklore and Folklife at the University of Pennsylvania)"
Originally a student of Prof. Muhsin Demironat, he has devoted 24 years of his life to art of Çini. While being based on 16th Century art, his work brings to the contemporary world a unique interpretation of Iznik, rather than being an exact replica of that period.

Houston Turkish Festival, Turkevi, Turkish Cultural Center

Kamran Hasanli to participate in the Turkic Cultures and Children’s Festival

During the Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival, Houston will host many great artists from different Turkic countries such as Turkey , Azerbaijan , Uzbekistan , Turkmenistan , and Kirghizistan.
Among these artists, Kamran Hasanli , Azerbaijan has been known as a great showman, director of highly rated show programs, and also a loved singer. His songs dedicated to different themes find way to his admirers' heart very easily at once.
To meet this great Azerbaijani artist, you just need to stop by Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival on September 8-9, 2007 between 1-10pm.

Houston Turkish Festival

Fly to Turkey for free directly from the Turkic Cultures & Children's Festival!

Fly to Turkey for free directly from the Turkic Cultures & Children's Festival !

You may win a trip to Turkey for free which may cost in average $5,000. Should you want to learn how, just come to the Turkic Cultures & Children's Festival on September 8-9, 2007 between 1-10pm.

During the festival, visit the Ebru TV booth and just fill out the petition form. But, if you fill out more than one form, none of them will be counted.

The drawing results will be announced during the Ayna concert on Sunday.

Houston Turkish Festival, Turkevi, Turkish Cultural Center

Ebru - The Art of Paper Marbling

"Ebru" has long been the name given to the authentic Turkish art of marbling paper and to the marbled papers produced by ebru artists.
In traditional Turkish Ebru, all kinds of natural dying material which is not fading in light, not containing acids and not soluble in water are used.
One of the most, if not the most, famous ebru artist Ozkan Alagoz, from Turkey, will be with us during Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival . Mr. Alagoz was born in 1970/Kutahya. With the support of worldwide painter Ahmet Yakuboglu and international ceramic artist Mehmet Gursoy, he applied the Ebru art on ceramic and tile objects. He created excellent crafts on this art branch.

To see his famous crafts, you need just to come to the Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival in Houston on September 8-9,2007.

Houston Turkish Festival, Turkevi, Turkish Cultural Center

Ebru: The Art of Patience

One of the most unique and beautiful forms of Turkish art is Ebru, or water marbling. Ebru is formed by drawing designs with dye on top of water, and then carefully placing paper on the surface of the water in order to absorb the dye.

The earliest examples of Ebru are found in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, and are dated 1539, but the detail and quality of the work suggests that Ebru was present long before this time in the Ottoman Empire. Ebru has traditionally been rarely signed, and therefore many great artists remain unnamed.

Houston Turkish Festival

Ayna Rock Band's Concert In Houston (video)

Ayna Rock Band is one of the famous groups not only in Turkey but also out of country's borders. Ayna has serving to communities with their music for more than 10 years. One of Ayna fan writes 'the band composes songs with very romantics lyrics which applies to all, so Ayna serves not only their fans but majority of the society'. The group was established by its soloist Erhan Guleryuz (man in the middle). Ayna is famous for both with their music and also with their cooperation with UN to help refugees. There are many fans of this band therefore; Raindrop Turkevi invited the band to perform on Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival, in Houston. This is one of the events of the festival that should not be missed.

Date: September 8-9, 2007 Days: Saturday and Sunday Time: 1 pm - 10pm

Location: City Hall - Herman Square, Houston, TX

Houston Turkish Festival, Turkevi, Turkish Cultural Center

Karagöz and Hacivat in Houston

Karagöz & Hacivat is a Turkish shadow play taking its name from its main character Karagöz will take place in Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival in Houston. The origin of the shadow plays is accepted as southeastern part of Asia around Java.The main characters of the play are of course Karagoz and Hacivat. Karagoz represents the public morals and common sense, the ordinary man in the street, and is straightforward and reliable. He is almost illiterate; usually unemployed and embarks on money earning projects that never work. He is often kind of rude. You can recognize him by his turban, his bald head and his black beard. His left arm is longer than the other one. His friend Hacivat instead is the opposite of him; he is educated in a Moslem theology school, speaks Ottoman Turkish and uses poetical and literary language. He's very clever as well.