Cultural Road Festival moves to İzmir

İZMİR

The 15th stop of Türkiye's Cultural Road Festival, a major event celebrating the country’s rich historical, natural and cultural heritage, is the western province of İzmir, where festivities will occur from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3.

Selim Terzi, director of Heritage and Cultural Events at the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the director of the Cultural Road Festival, said that over 100 different cultural and artistic events would be held in nearly 500 programs at 58 different locations across the city.

Terzi mentioned that, alongside free public concerts, there will be events from various disciplines, such as theater, opera and children's activities, during the nine-day festival, with traditional and digital exhibitions available for art lovers. "The Pablo Picasso exhibition, which we started in Ankara and Istanbul, will meet art enthusiasts in İzmir, offering them the chance to see very special works. Also, a selection from Andy Warhol, one of the pioneers of pop art, and the ‘Earth Dreams: Anatolia’ exhibition by Refik Anadol, which merges Türkiye's archaeological heritage with artificial intelligence, will be presented to the public."

Republic Day on Oct. 29 will be celebrated with special events during the İzmir Cultural Road Festival.

Events will include the Republic Concert from Independence to Foundation, a Ballet Show in the Light of the Republic, a talk on Turkish Painting in the Republican Era, and a screening of the film "The Last Supper."

Selim Terzi highlighted that free public concerts would be held at Gündoğdu Square throughout the festival, and said: "Special performances will be staged for Republic Day on Oct. 29. Our state theaters, opera and ballet will present special works for Republic Day. In the evening, we will celebrate Republic Day with a concert by Murat Boz at Gündoğdu Square, attended by locals from İzmir and surrounding provinces."

Terzi added that the festival aims to boost the economy of the cities where it is held, particularly during periods when tourism activity declines. He emphasized that the festival positively impacts both the economic and social life of the city.

Terzi noted that the festivals receive considerable interest, saying, "Thanks to cultural and artistic events, the city and the neighboring provinces revive, and people start planning their schedules or vacations to coincide with the Cultural Road Festival events in that city."

Children's activities

Stressing the importance given to children's activities in the festival, including colorful activities, workshops, stage performances and theater plays, Terzi said: "There is incredible participation in children's events at the festivals. They not only have fun but also learn. Children are introduced to our traditional performing arts, such as Karagöz and Nasrettin Hoca. One of the main goals of these festivals is to introduce our traditional arts, culture, customs and traditions to children."

“Every event in the festival is very valuable, but we give special importance to children's events. TEKNOFEST has opened up a new horizon for young people in Türkiye, bringing a very different dynamic. We are also thinking about how we can engage more with our children and young people in the fields of culture and arts and bring them together with these experiences. We are including some children's events from TEKNOFEST in the children's activities of the festival," he added.

The 2024 calendar of the Turkish Cultural Road Festival will conclude in the southern province of Antalya, where it will take place from Nov. 2 to 10.