The countdown has begun to the UK’s biggest Turkish Cypriot festival, which again returns to the aptly named Donkey Lane (Karpaz’s wild donkeys are the national animal of North Cyprus) playing fields in Enfield, North London, for some family-friendly fun on Sunday, 30 June 2023.
This now firmly established annual celebration of Turkish Cypriot culture offers a day of live popular Turkish music, Turkish Cypriot folk dancing, delicious Turkish Cypriot food, and stalls with a mix of community groups, traders and traditional art & crafts. There are also funfair rides, and face painting and donkey rides for the children.
This year’s main stage will be headlined by legendary Turkish rock band Ayna, which has sold over 10 million albums and feature in the Guinness World Records for giving more than 2,000 concerts both in Turkiye and worldwide.
Formed in 1996 by Erhan Güleryüz and Cemil Özeren, the band recorded a host of big hits, including Ceylan, Sen Unutma Beni, Kanka, Gelincik, Uyandım, and Dön Bak Ayna’ya,(a Turkish cover of Boney M’s Rasputin), before Özeren sadly passed away in 2012 aged 50.
Today’s Ayna features Güleryüz (vocal), Kaya Sevinç (guitar), Arda Algan (bass), Umut Çılgın (drums) and Orçun Çolak (keyboard). Expect a crowd-pleasing set featuring some of their biggest hits along with Turkish and Turkish Cypriot rock and pop classics.
Also on this year’s festival bill is British Turkish Cypriot popstress Eylem, and Turkish Cypriot rock band SOS, all the way from Güzelyurt.
Organised by the Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations of Britain (CTCA UK), there is a small charge to get into the festival – £5 person (plus booking fee), although kids under the age of 10 go free.
Festival Details
Title: Turkish Cypriot Cultural Festival 2024
Date: Sunday 30 June 2024
Time: 11am to 8pm
Venue: Donkey Lane Playing Fields, Enfield, London EN1 3PL
Admission: Tickets are priced £5 + booking fee per person, although children under the age of 10 are admitted free of charge.
To park on the playing fields also requires a ticket costing £6.13 (includes booking fee).
Tickets: beat the queues on the day and buy your attendance and car parking tickets online from Eventbrite – click here to purchase.
Main photo, top, of Ayna from their Facebook page. Photo © Durmus Yasin Gedik
