Winners of Art and Writing Contest

The winners of the Art and Writing Contest were announced and awarded at the end of the Children's Cultural Festival program on April 29th. 

 Art Contest Winners for Grades 1-5 Category

1st Place: "Cultural Diversity in My World" by Esma Atli
2nd Place: "Me and My Brother" by Calla Kahan-Fagan   
3rd Place: "Dogs in Harmony" by Cydney Abnet   

Juror Honorary Award: "Me and My Brother" by Calla Kahan-Fagan    

 Writing Contest Winners for Grades 1-5 Category

1st Place: "My Specific Way of Life" by Abdelrahman Hassan   
2nd PLace: "My Culture My Home" by Aastha Gupta
3rd Place: "My Culture My Home" by Ipek Kendircioglu

 Art Contest Winners for Grades 6-8 Category

1st Place: "Tex-Mex Surprise" by Jereh M. Kamuanga
2nd Place: "International Day" by Yasmine Boukkataya
3rd Place: Feyza Yucel  

 Writing Contest Winners for Grades 6-8 Category

1st Place: "What is Culture?" by Christley Dorismond
2nd Place: "Two Cultures With-in One Person" by Jean-Pierre Charles
3rd Place: "Culture Through My Eyes" by Edwin Arias

News & Photos from CCF 2012

Children’s Cultural Festival organized by Turkish Cultural Center Boston took place on Sunday April 29^th, at Boston University Morse Auditorium. The event aimed to foster cultural awareness by providing children a chance for cultural expression. Program started with opening remarks by State representative Kay Khan and Consul General of Turkey, Murat Lutem. Both Rep Khan and Mr Lutem emphasized the importance of organizing such events to increase cultural awareness.

On behalf of Turkish Cultural Center Boston, Children's Cultural Festival Program Director, Ayse Kubra Coskun gave a warm welcome speech. 

 As the theme of the program is “Performances by Children for Children”, there were shows by children from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

Audience enjoyed great visual feast starting with traditional Chinese Lion Dance by GreaterBoston ChineseCultural Association (GBCCA) dance group. Lion dance is a very energetic, popular dance form accompanied by lively music. It is usually performed at the very beginning of a celebration, for example, Chinese new Year, or a ceremony to scare away the “evil spirits” and to summon good luck and fortune. 

The lion dance is followed by dulcimer solo. Dulcimer is one of the traditional Chinese music instruments, which is also known as yanqqin.

 The kids from Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association continued their amazing show with Chinese Yo Yo, that is a popular folk sport in China dating back to the Ming Dynasty. We thank performing kids from GBCCA and the group leader George Chou for their outstanding effort and contribution.

 The program continued with authentic hard shoe dance. Traditional Celtic dance costuming made in Ireland worn by the dancers of Smith Houlihan Irish Dance Academy. We thank Smith Houlihan Irish Dance Academy and the group leader Noreen Houlihan Smith for the amazing show.

Next, the shows by the students of Korean School of New England were amazing. They performed traditional Korean Fan dance and Ganggo Drum dance. We thank Korean School of New England principal Il Nam and dance teacher Jessica Park for their valuable support and contribution.

The festival continued with a contemporary traditional Haitian dance by Youth and Family Enrichment Services (YOFES) kids. We thank Geralde Gabeau, Jean-Martz Vital and Ulmiche Wagnac from YOFES for their support and contribution.

The dance group from Indian Association of Greater Boston performed Medley of Bollywood dance from Om Shanti Om. We thank Choreographer and group leader Nikita Punjabi for this great show.

The world tour continued with Latin America. The kids from La Piñata Latin American Cultural  Family Network, Inc performed three traditional dances; Mangulina from the Dominican Republic, Balincha from Cuzco Peru and Machetes a folkloric popular dance from Mexico. We thank group leader and teacher Rosalba Solis and her students for their contribution.

American Chinese Art Society performed three great pieces; Dynamics, Dance of the Chivalry and Circling the Mountain Forest. We thank dance teacher Jade Lin and her group for their support and contribution.

 
Next show was Nepali Festival Dance by Nepali Dance group from Bosnian Community Center for Resource Development. We thank group coordinators Gyan Sharma and Lolita Sharma for their valuable contribution.

Pniney Emeth – Isreali Dance Troupe reminded us that nonsense can be so funny, especially when you are a kid. Our thanks go to the group leader Alla Shimron for her outstanding support for CCF 2012.

 

Bosnian Community Center Resource Development (BCCRD)’s KUD-Boston Sevdah performed Sota dance, which is a traditional bosnian dance. The dance features the strength  of community, dignity of movement and sensuality of courting/wedding ceremonies. We thank BCCRD executive director Adnan Zubcevic and BCCRD program director Asim Kustura for their amazing performance.

 

We thank our sponsors, participating institutions and  Turkish Cultural Center volunteers for making such an event possible.

Stay tuned for next year's Children's Cultural Festival!

 

CCF2012 Program

Dear Friends,  

If you are planning to join us at the First Annual Children's Cultural Festival, please note some useful information below:

• Children's Cultural Festival will take place at Boston University Alfred L. Morse Auditorium located at 602 Commonwealth Ave. Boston, MA 02215
• Free off-street parking is possible on the premises however space might be limited. So we encourage you to use public transportation to Blandford Station with the Green B line or the 57 Bus or carpool if it is possible.
• This is a free event and is open to the public
• The doors will open at 1:30 pm, the program will begin at 2pm with opening remarks by State Representative Kay Khan and  Consul General of Turkey Murat Lutem.
• There will not be food or beverage sale during the program.
• You can reach us at ccf@turkishcenterboston.org , if you have any questions or concerns.

We thank our sponsors, participating institutions, families and students, Boston University Dialog Forum and volunteers of Turkish Cultural Center Boston for their contribution. 

We are looking forward to seeing you all there!

Photos courtesy of:
American Chinese Art Society, KUD Boston Sevdah,  Smita Seetharaman, La Piñata Latin American Cultural  Family Network, Inc, Smith Houlihan Irish Dance Academy,  Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association, Youth and Family Enrichment Services

Evaluation of Art & Writing Contest Entries

Jurors came together to evaluate Art &Writing Contest entries on Saturday April 15. The program started with Turkish-style breakfast at 10 am.

There were 37 Art submissions and 75 Writing submissions. Grading was a hard job for the judges. At the end of the program, everyone appreciated children's efforts and was glad to contribute by volunteering.

Winners of the contest will be announced at the Children's Cultural Festival on April 29th.

Countdown Has Started!

Countdown for Children's Cultural Festival Has Started!

Please join us for a great program featuring performances from

• American Chinese Art Society
• Bosnian Community Center for Resource Development
• Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association
• India Association of Greater Boston
• La Piñata Latin American Cultural  Family Network, Inc
• Smith Houlihan Irish Dance Academy
• Youth and Family Enrichment Services

Stay tuned for the updates!

CHILDREN'S CULTURAL FESTIVAL (CCF-2012)

As the Turkish Cultural Center Boston we are pleased to announce our first Children’s Cultural Festival. The goal of Children’s Cultural Festival is twofold: to give children an opportunity to express their cultural heritage, share with others the beautiful, colorful traditions of their culture and to explore the richness of other cultures surrounding them.

The Festival will bring together cultural traditions from around the world with performances and presentations by children in the greater Boston Area (grades K-8). Please save the date for this exciting event that will take place on Sunday, April 29, 2012 between 2pm-5pm in Boston University Morse Auditorium.

The festival will only be as good as the diversity of the performers! We are looking for participation in all components of the event. If you are interested in attending the Children’s Cultural Festival, receiving updates about it OR having your children or students participate, please contact Outreach Coordinator, Zehra Beyza Omer and you will be added to our mailing list.