May 17, 2012
31st Turkish-American Day Parade and Festival Celebrates in NYC
Mark Thompson READ TIME: 2 MIN.
New York, NY - The 31st Annual Turkish Day Parade and Festival will be held on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 at 11AM. The event is organized by the Federation of Turkish American Association, the oldest and largest Turkish American Umbrella Organization in the United States.
The Turkish-American Parade and Festival takes place in New York City in the month of May each year. This year, the Parade will begin at 11:00 a.m. at 56th street and Madison Avenue. The parade will march down to the Festival area at Dag Hammarskjold Park on 47th street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. The festival features performances by several famous Turkish pop singers including Burak Kut, Ege, Demet Sagiroglu and Esref Incioglu.
Festival attendees will also enjoy the music of the Mehter Band, the oldest Ottoman military music band. A wide range of dancers will also appear during the festival including Turkish folk dancers, the Redhawk Native American Dance Group, Turkic Dance Groups and other outstanding ethnic dances.
FTAA President Ali Cinar said: "We invite all New Yorkers and people from the Tri-State area to come and enjoy this colorful and amazing event. The Turkish-American Day Parade and Festival in New York City has been accepted as the greatest Turkish cultural event outside of Turkey. The host of the event, Federation of Turkish American Associations, an umbrella organization which represents more than 1.3 Million Turks of Turkey, Europe, Turkic Countries and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is even stronger with more than 47 different components and more than 200 sister organizations throughout the United States."
The Federation of Turkish American Associations, Inc., based in New York City, a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization, was established in 1956 for the purpose of uniting and supporting the Turkic community within the United States. Since its conception, it has successfully established a vital link between the Turkic and the American communities. The Federation has evolved with the changing times and has expanded in size, membership and purpose. Today, the Federation is an umbrella organization consisting of over 47 member associations with a majority of these groups located in the Northeast region of the United States.
The Federation also strives to provide maximum exposure of Turkic culture, music, history and overall knowledge of Turkey to the U.S. public. This is achieved through cultural activities and other public relations activities throughout the United States.
FTAA organizes the biggest and largest Turkish Cultural event outside of Turkey in mid May of every year. FTAA also organizes social, educational and networking events nationwide.
Turkey is a modern country with a captivating blend of antiquity and contemporary and of East and West. The cradle of civilization and center of world history today stands as one of the fastest-growing tourism destinations in the world.
Turkey was the site of the first human settlement; the seat of the Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman Empires; the birthplace of Homer and the last home of the Virgin Mary, just to name a few. Today Turkey, with its spectacular coastline, majestic mountains, cosmopolitan cities and quaint villages is one of the world's most fascinating destinations.
A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.
