We enjoyed the beautiful day Sunday with thousands of people at Freedom Plaza downtown for the 12th annual Turkish Festival. We snapped the emcee Ebony-Nicole Kelly with the organizer, American Turkish Association of DC president Gizem Salcigil White, a young volunteer who performed on stage, and Turkish Airlines' Sevil Altinsoy.
Guests enjoyed hours of delicious Turkish food from local vendors (we loved Meze’s doner sandwich) as well as a market and live entertainment. Singing and dancing groups from across the US and Turkey performed in front of the Capitol. Here, Monster’s Michael Amir Bakhtiar, Pallavi Patel, and Georgetown University’s John Hanacek.
The day’s festivities wrapped up Turkish Heritage Month, which included restaurant week, movie screenings, and cultural workshops. In 2013, the festival was voted the “Best Cultural Festival” in DC for the third year in a row. Here, Arica Maurer and Sydney Lucia flank the National Endowment for Democracy’s Marie Ucok.
Travis Holler, Richelle Manansala, and Merjan Bubernack contributed to this issue.
