Organizers of Ottawa’s Turkish Festival say their weekend event met its goals of teaching and celebrating their country’s culture.
The sixth annual festival was held at Confederation Park Friday and Saturday, showcasing the Horon folk dance as one of its activities.
"It's really energetic for me, and I just love energy," said ten-year-old Nilan Aripek, whose parents moved from Turkey.
"They have to know about their culture,” said her father Ayhan Aripek. “Their dance, their culture, their music."
The festival also included gourmet foods like shish kebabs and baklava, live folk music and water painting.
"The Canadian Turkish Heritage Foundation wanted to put forth this event so we can appreciate multiculturalism and learn from all of our cultures," said organizer Andree-Anne Marande.
For example, a display of Polish folk dancing hit the stage on Saturday, an indication of those wishes to be multicultural.
Some people said they want to see more of these types of festivals in Ottawa.
"There's Greek fest, Lebanese fest, Chinatown and Little Italy,” said Amarinder Dahona. “Other than that, there's not much representation from the rest of the world."
Turkish Festival organizers said they’re already working on next year’s event, but aren’t giving any hints on what to expect.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Stefanie Masotti
