Istanbul to present a nature friendly festival

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

BABAZULA. The festival will feature ecology-themed performances for three days.

ECOFEST Istanbul is a culture, arts and social responsibility project aimed at developing broader environmental public awareness and encouraging a nature-friendly and sustainable living culture in many fields - from manufacturing to design and energy to nutrition.

Istanbul will host Turkey’s first international ecology festival from June 8 to June 10.

Bringing together environmentally sensitive disciplines and sectors, ECOFEST Istanbul events and fair booths will be based primarily at Küçükçiftlik Park, but will also spread to the streets of Nişantaşı.

The events include thematic concerts, open kitchen and taste activities, ecological fashion shows, workshops for kids, recycled art works, installations, street events and many other festivities.

‘Organic’ events

The three day festival will feature the Viennese band “The Vegetable Orchestra,” which makes music using instruments produced with vegetables, as well as the “Organic Orchestra,” which will perform under the baton of U.S. conductor and percussionist Adam Rudolph. Israeli artist Gil Bohadana, who makes music with wasted materials, Turkish band Baba Zula, who will open the festival with their concert, body percussion band KeKeÇa and Gitarcafe artists will also perform.

In the festival’s painting, sculpture and installation areas there will be a “paper cottage” made out of wasted papers, an “ecologic house” built with the contribution of Yeşil Platform, as well as a landscape and vertical garden. “MindBody Istanbul,” the most comprehensive Yoga and Pilates Platform in Turkey will take place as part of the festival.

Participants of the festival will have a chance to buy fresh organic foods in the ecological bazaar to be set up in the festival area. They will also taste foods prepared with healthy and natural products.

Officials from many ecology-related sectors, such as automotives, energy, textile, cosmetics, construction, and architecture will present their products and organize workshops. There will also be an ecology-themed fashion show as part of festival events.

ECOFEST Istanbul is organized by CMS Istanbul, which is a project development initiative founded by the creators of ISCMS 2010, the largest and one of the most creative festivals held under the main sponsorship of Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency, in cooperation with Istanbul’s Bilgi University Research Center for the Environment, Energy and Sustainability and Yeşil Platform.