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Sunday, April 5th we attended the Anatolian Turkish Festival at the OC Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Congratulations on providing the most authentic city displays, educational writings, and craftsmanship. We were amazed at the "backdrops" projecting a feeling that we were actually there on a holiday. In 2007, I visited many cities in Turkey and I fell in love with your country, the culture, traditions and the people. Our family has lived in both Los Angeles and Orange Counties since 1950 and we have attended hundreds of International Festivals from San Francisco to San Diego. In our opinion, THE ANATOLIAN CULTURAL FESTIVAL far exceeds any festival we have attended. We enjoyed the costumes, dancing and variety of foods. The many vendors were very pleasant and helpful as we purchased jewelry, clothing and food. My granddaughter, Beth was selected to assist the Chef in his 12:30 p.m. food demonstration - this was another highlight of our day. We sincerely hope this will become an "annual event" for Orange County. If you are tracking your marketing, I read about the event in the OC Register Newspaper on Friday. Carol Hesse Seal Beach, CA Thank you for a fabulous experience at the Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival. Clearly last week was a labor of love by many. I feel very fortunate to have been present and remain grateful for the invitation. Please keep me advised as to how I might be helpful in the future. Faithfully, Gwynne Guibord The Reverend Canon Dr. Gwynne Guibord Officer of Ecumenical and Interreligious Concerns The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles Consultant for InterfaithRelations The Episcopal Church USA I had so much fun on Thursday, and have been telling everyone about my day. I have been hoping all weekend to hear good news that the remaining days of the festival saw large crowds of people learning about and enjoying the food and art of your home country. I thought it interesting that President Obama landed in Turkey on the last day of the festival. Thank you so much for yet another delightful opportunity to learn and appreciate Turkey! Carol Barkley California State Charter School Division Director This is just a quick note of my thanks for inviting me to the Opening of Anatolian Food and Cultures Festival. The Festival was very well organized and presented, and I would say to you that it was another successful undertaking to build a bridge and help people here to understand rich and profoundly deep value of your great country, Turkey. I would congratulate you on bringing such success. The timing of the Festival, which is just before the historical visit of President Obama to Turkey, was excellent and also unforgettable. It was good, as far as I am concerned, that I could also see more Turkish people there. That Thursday was a very rewarding day for me. Thank you once again. Tom Ishikawa San Diego The festival was quite wonderful and I hope that you were pleased with the turnout. Such a huge endeavor, so much work! I was most impressed with all of the terrific food and only wished that my stomach were larger. Thanks again for the wonderful work that you and your community are doing. Sincerely, Marilyn Gottschall Associate Professor, Chair of Religious Studies C. Milo Connick Professor of Religious Studies Chair Whittier College Whittier. California Gecmis olsun for all of your work these past four days. I'm so glad that Chauntee' and I were able to visit yesterday evening to see for ourselves what an impressive job it was. I'm sorry again that my schedule has been such that I could not spend more time enjoying the fine Turkish hospitality that was so abundantly clear everywhere at the festival. Once again tebrik ederim. It was a phenomenal festival and a real success for everyone involved. All the best, Joshua Walker UCLA International Relations Visiting Professor Conrad and I thought the festival was put together in such a wonderful and professional way. We felt like we were in Istanbul when we saw the canal and the hills dotted with mansions beyond! We enjoyed talking to the vendors, and enjoyed the food - we met some very nice Turkish Americans from New York, also. Thank you for including us, and please tell us how it all turned out over the weekend - you sure had perfect weather for it! Kathleen and Conrad Kavanagh First of all my congratulations to all of you for bringing the "Anatolian Culture and Food Festival" to Orange County. I certainly appreciated being invited to the ribbon cutting and enjoyed seeing many old friends there. I had a tough time leaving because all the activities were very interesting and most enjoyable. It will certainly help to further bring understanding of the Turkish civilization and its history to Orange County. The exhibits are outstanding and most people will not realize the tremendous efforts all this has taken and how great it all turned out. I wish you all a very successful event celebration. Sincerely and with many thanks. Jeff Lodder Thank you for such a rich experience this past weekend at your festival. I feel lucky to have had such authentic Turkish culture in our backyard. Your efforts and labor are much appreciated. I sincerely hope to see it all again next year. I will bring even more friends along next time!! Rae Gabriel Thank you for the enormous event you put together. It was a fun filled weekend for my family. The food, the entertainments, the location, the kids play area.. everything was well thought out. Given you prepared this event with hundreds of volunteers and probably countless hours of preparation and dedication make it more special. You set wonderful memories for my family and friends. My sincerest thanks to every single person who gave their precious time to make this a reality. My only wish that you are not burned out and so I hope it will be recurring event going forward.. Hulya Peker I want to congratulate you for your efforts and perfect organization. It gives us a chance to remember our culture and share it with the ones who have no idea about it. Proffesional job. Again and again congratulations. Tuna Palabiyikoglu Thank you very much for a truly amazing weekend. The festival and amenities were outstanding and all of your support staff were very accommodating and pleasant. I was stationed with the United States Air Force in Diyarbakir Turkey, and I have traveled to many of the places that were displayed at your festival. It was truly an amazing treat for the weekend. I compliment you on an outstanding professional job and everything was so smooth, and the displays were truly informative and well planned. All the Best! Regards, Dianne Cag I am still touched by seeing Turkiye coming alive in just 50 minutes away from my house and I feel so sorry for anyone who might be interested in having same experience with me, since they missed this great opportunity until -hopefully- next year. As all the visitors, I am amazed, excited, and thrilled by the reachness of Anatolian Heritage reflecting from its history, culture, civilization, people, and food in front of our eyes in here, California. Anatolia has a lot to share with this very special, unique land, the Unites States of America, the land of one of the biggest civilizations, the land of opportunities, the land of freedom, the land of law, and the land of numerous of firsts, inventions, and discoveries. I am hoping that Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival will become an annual event for California as well as other states in the United States. I cannot find enough words to express my sincere thanks for providing this amazing experience for us. Best wishes, Sincerely Sukran Kivrak This festival was breathtaking wonderful! I truly appreciated all the work that went into the coordination of such an event. I was blow away by the attention to detail, the craftsmanship of the natives, meticulous detail from the artists, the colorful parade and of course, the food! I hope that this event comes around again, I would most definitely come again! Natalee Lopez I was very impressed with the beautiful displays, history, arts and culture of Anatolia presented at your event. It has spurred my desire to visit Turkey and take in the sights, culture, foods and hospitality of the region. I told my friends at work who were not aware of the event what a treat they had missed. Hopefully this will become a regular feature in Orange County and you will reach more people through widespread advertising of the event. Congratulations to all those who participated in organizing this gorgeous festival! Chander Singh I'd like to congratulate the organization committee for bringing the beauty and wealth of the land of Anatolia to the U.S. The festival not just shared the diverse and rich cultures of Anatolia but also brought people from different backgrounds all together. We hope to see more in the near future. Hakan Berberoglu I had beautiful time on Sunday. I loved whirling dervishes it was amazing and very peaceful. Can you put more pictures about festival or videos, because I could not take any pictures and I would like to share with my friends who missed the Anatolian festival. Next time they won’t miss it... Great Job! Maria Martinez - Editor's Note: We are currently selecting and classifying the pictures to be published among the thousands professional shots. They will also be available in high resolution for public download. |
