Another delicious culinary journey with Işıl Arıcan

This evening we completed our 5th Culinary Gathering Series with our culinary expert Işıl Arıcan and it was a delicious and fun journey. 

After cooking together, we gathered around to enjoy the delicious meal we prepared together with the lovely company of new and old friends. We feel that sharing culture through cuisine is an inclusive and beautiful process.

If you like to join us on our next culinary journey, you can reserve your seat here online. Please note that our events sell out well in advance so we encourage you to reserve your seat now.

JOIN US!

2020 Folk Dance Classes begin January 14th, 2020.

If you are interested in joining us, now is the time! You do not have to have previous experience with folk dancing. Classes are conducted in English. Below are some preliminary information about our rehearsals.

DATES:

• Our rehearsals are held every Tuesday evening at 7: 30PM - 9:15PM (unless otherwise notified)
  Registration Fee: $60. ($40 for students).

• We use the cheddar up app to collect payments. This fee covers our studio, tax and insurance expenses. Our instructor Mehmet Unal is volunteer instructor. We take turns leading the class per his direction at times when he is not available.

LOCATION:

• Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, 2704 Alcatraz Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

CLASS STRUCTURE:

• 10 min - Warm-up

• 30 min - Practicing Previously learned Dances

• 10 min -Break

• 30 min- Learning New Dance (Trakya region for Spring 2020)

• 10 min - stretching

CLASS PREPARATION:

• Comfortable clothing (yoga pants, tights tshirts)

• Everyone must have clean and comfortable exercise Shoes to avoid injury. No outside shoes are allowed into the dance studio.

• Bring your water bottle.

• There is no food allowed into the studio.

• Use Scent Free deodorants.

DURING CLASS:

• We have serious fun. This means we pay attention and also enjoy eachothers' company respectfully.

• Newcomers are welcome, we will revisit old dances to teach new comers, and include new choreography to our repertoire in addition to the old ones. This means we look to our group for inspiration and past knowledge for certain dances if they had danced before.If not we collectively research and part take in the evolution of the choreography

• Allowing 5 minutes to stretching at the end of the class to avoid injuries.

PERFORMANCE LOGISTICS

Booking:

• We are a team of volunteer folk dancers, and we are happy to dance at events in exchange for donations to Berkeley Turkish School.

• Organizations or individuals can submit online a document request for booking our folk dance performances.

Costumes:

• BTS provides the costumes which are custom made and brought from Turkey.

• It is the performers' responsibility to air dry, clean, iron and return promptly after the performances.

• We request each dancer to have a pair of performance dance shoes matching to the team's footwear for performances. We will share this information during class.

Performance Information:

• After connecting with the booking organization and getting a clear understanding of the audience, and the event type our instructor Mehmet Unal decides which performers get to perform what type of dances are suitable for each venue.

• Our general rule is that dancers must be present at 3 consecutive rehearsals to perform at a show.

News from Cagdas Yasami Destekleme Dernegi

We wanted to share these photos we just received from ÇYDD with you. What a lovely way to enter 2020!

We helped establish a library in Gaziosmanpaşa district of İstanbul by donating our library collection of over 250 children’s books including funding the construction of Cagdas Yasami Destekleme Dernegi library’s custom bookshelves. This new library will be used mostly by refugee students who reside in one of Istanbul’s impoverished neighborhoods. We couldn’t be happier to support such a meaningful cause and we look forward to many more partnerships with ÇYDD in the future.

Our January Culinary Event is SOLD OUT!

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! We hope you are enjoying your break for the holidays!

We wanted to let you know that our January 12th Culinary Gathering is SOLD OUT! If you are interested in reserving your seat for our future culinary gatherings, you can do so below:

• For our March 15th Culinary Series you can book your seat here.

• For our April 26th Culinary Series you can book your seat here.

Thank you!

WISHING YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We want to thank you for your generosity and support for our programs at the Bay Area Turkish Society. We are honored to have a community that appreciates and values the services that we provide through volunteer-led initiatives. 

Our mission is to sponsor a nonpartisan forum through which individuals and institutions of Turkish, Anatolian, and Levantine heritage can collectively support their shared pursuits in the arts, sciences and humanities. 

This past year was an exciting year for our organization and we are looking forward to our future programs in 2020 with you. Our accomplishments were made possible with your support and active participation, and the efforts of our mission-driven leadership.

Thank you for your continued support and Happy New Year to you and your families!

Warm Regards,

Bay Area Turkish Society Board Members

You can visit our events page to find out more about our program offerings.

You can join our folk dance group by attending our classes. You can also book our performances online for your events.

Our January 12th event is SOLD OUT. You can reserve your seat or sponsor an event online today for March 15th, and April 26th culinary gathering series.

If you’d like Group İda to perform at your events or live performances, please let us know.

For more information about our collaboration with CYDD you can go here.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

You can visit our events page to find out more about our program offerings.

You can join our folk dance group by attending our classes. You can also book our performances online for your events.

You can reserve your seat or sponsor an event online today for January 12th, March 15th, and April 26th culinary gathering series.

If you’d like Group İda to perform at your events or live performances, please let us know.

For more information about our collaboration with CYDD you can go here.

WE DONATED OUR CHILDREN'S BOOK LIBRARY TOÇAĞDAŞ YAŞAMI DESTEKLEME DERNEĞİ (ÇYDD)

We endorse the initiatives of The Association For The Support Of Contemporary Living (ÇYDD) which is a non-governmental organization aiming to help girls education across Turkey, fights against the gender discrimination and illiteracy of women.

We helped ÇYDD establish a library in Gaziosmanpaşa district of Istanbul by donating our  library collection of over 250 children’s books including funding the construction of their library’s custom bookshelves. This new library will be used mostly by refugee students who reside in one of Istanbul’s impoverished neighborhoods. We couldn’t be happier to support such a meaningful cause and we look forward to many more partnerships with ÇYDD in the future. 

Our board members Başak Altan and Yeşim Erim met up with Dr.Ayşe Yüksel, General Director of ÇYDD and her team in ÇYDD Istanbul Headquarters where this photo is taken.

Celebrating A Fantastic Year with Friends at BTS Holiday Party

This past Saturday Bay Area Turkish Society celebrated the end of another fantastic year at its Holiday Party.

At BTS we provide educational, cultural, social, and recreational programs for exploring, performing, presenting, and sharing our heritage and traditions with the Bay Area community through arts, dance, music, and culinary programs.

All of these activities are led by 100% volunteer efforts and are funded by the Berkeley Turkish School. If you would like to volunteer and lead a program that you are passionate about, please contact us.

Thank you for your continuous support and contributions to our programs that bring joy and meaning to our community. We hope to see you at our future events.

We also thank Burak Keskin, Basak Anayurt and Jeanne Fogler for a great musical performance during our holiday party. We are very excited to have you as our new Music group. We also thank Basak & Mark Altan-Schirmer for hosting this lovely event at their home.

Cheers to many more meaningful cross-cultural events together!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ALL OF US AT THE BAY AREA TURKISH SOCIETY!

A GREAT EXPERIENCE GIFT - JOIN OUR CULINARY GATHERING CLASS JANUARY 12th

If you are looking for a meaningful experience gift to give fo loved one we have another great culinary gathering series coming up in January.

Don’t miss this perfect for a holiday gift. You can learn more about our culinary gathering series and purchase your tickets here.

Sharing food connects us to each other. This is a cooking class followed by a communal meal. These events are held at the professional kitchens of the Bauman College in Berkeley,  and are led by cooking enthusiasts, who carefully craft a five course menu. The participants not only learn the menu by cooking it, they also get the opportunity to share this meal together. See previous event photos in our blog HERE

• Sign up for our January 12th, 4 pm to 7:30 pm, Culinary Event HERE 

• Sponsor a Culinary Gathering Event HERE

BTS Folk Dance Team Performed at Bliss Studio

The BTS Folk Dance team was invited to perform at Bliss Studio among other dance teams where we had the opportunity to share our dances together. It was a fun evening filled with eclectic dance performances. We thank our team member Jeanne for connecting us with her dancer friends. Looking forward to many inspiring performances together!

Commemorating Ataturk’s legacy

On November 10th, The Bay Area Turkish Society commemorates the death anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. This day is marked throughout Turkey with a moment of silence to honor his legacy.

We have concluded our last Culinary Gathering Series for the year. Join us in January!

Yesterday’s delicious class conducted by our friend Nur Sağlam concluded our culinary gathering series for 2019. Nur’s menu was composed of Turkish Kale and Collard Greens Soup, Stuffed Grape Leaves with Minced Meat, Oven Roasted Cauliflower, Celeriac Salad with Yogurt and Sultan’s Custard Rolls.

As always, we had international guests in addition to local Bay Area residents making our conversations and connections more diverse and meaningful.

We thank all those who joined us on this fun occasion. If you missed out on this one, join us on our next gathering in January. You can get your tickets for our January Culinary Gathering Event HERE. This is an excellent gift to a friend or a loved one for the holidays!

Sharing food connects us to each other. This is a cooking class followed by a communal meal. These events are held at the professional kitchens of the Bauman College in Berkeley,  and are led by cooking enthusiasts, who carefully craft a five course menu. The participants not only learn the menu by cooking it, they also get the opportunity to share this meal together.

• Sign up for our January 12th, 4 pm to 7:30 pm, Culinary Event HERE 

• Sponsor a Culinary Gathering Event HERE

Below are some photos from our event today.

BTS Folk Dance Team Perfroming at Republic Gala hosted by TAAC Sacramento

BTS Folk Dance team is honored to have been invited to perform at the Republic Gala hosted by the TAAC Sacramento Chapter for a second year in a row.

We thank Demet Candas and all the volunteers in Sacramento for making this event a meaningful one for us all. Together we celebrated the 96th year of the Turkish Republic. Here are some photos of our evening.

We are very excited for our performance at the Republic Gala this weekend.

Our folk dance team practicing away for the weekend’s performance.

Cumhuriyet Bayramımız kutlu olsun! (Happy Republic Day, Turkey!)

This photo was taken from the first Republic Ball.

İlk balo 29 Ekim 1925’te, Şengül Hamamı’nın yanındaki Türk Ocağı’nda düzenlendi.

“Today we celebrate Turkey’s Republic Day, known locally as Cumhuriyet Bayramı. On this day in 1923, the new Turkish parliament issued a proclamation that adopted a new constitution, establishing the Republic of Turkey after more than 600 years under the Ottoman Empire.

That same day, Mustafa Kemal was elected president of the Republic. He would later be named “Atatürk” (father of the Turks) and declared Republic Day to be Turkey’s most important national holiday.

Turkish flags and portraits of Atatürk are seen all over Turkey on this celebratory occasion. Citizens attend cultural events, including theater, poetry readings, and other festivities.

The day is also an excellent occasion to visit historic sites like the Atatürk’s memorial in Ankara, where many government officials lay wreaths in his honor. Festivities include plenty of music, flags, and torches, finally capped by a fireworks display.”- Source: https://www.google.com/doodles/turkey-republic-day-2019

Practicing for our performance for the Republic Gala Performance.

BTS Folk Dance team is going to perform this Saturday at TAAC Sacramento Chapter’s Republic Gala. Here are some photos of our rehearsals this past Sunday, despite the bad air quality.

Our November Culinary Gathering is SOLD OUT!

Dear Friends, Our November Culinary Gathering is SOLD OUT! If you are interested in joining us on our next culinary gathering, it will be held on January 12th. Please stay tuned to reserve your seats!

Sharing food connects us to each other. This is a cooking class followed by a communal meal. These events are held at the professional kitchens of the Bauman College in Berkeley, and are led by cooking enthusiasts, who carefully craft a five course menu. The participants not only learn the menu by cooking it, they also get the opportunity to share this meal together. See previous event photos in our blog HERE



Thank you Nur Saglam for the most delicious October Culinary Class!

This evening’s culinary class was taught by our friend Nur Sağlam whose menu was so delicious that we couldn’t have enough. Nur’s menu was composed of Turkish Eggplant Mousakka, Cucumber Yogurt Side, Turkish Rice Pilaf with Orzo and Pumpkin Dessert with Walnuts. We ended our evening with some beautiful baglama songs played by our friend Burak Keskin while we all enjoyed Turkish tea and coffee. We had international guests from Argentina, Belgium, Pakistan in addition to local Bay Area residents.

We thank all those who joined us on this fun occasion. If you missed out on this one, join us on our next gathering in November. You can get your tickets for our November Culinary Gathering Event HERE.

Sharing food connects us to each other. This is a cooking class followed by a communal meal. These events are held at the professional kitchens of the Bauman College in Berkeley,  and are led by cooking enthusiasts, who carefully craft a five course menu. The participants not only learn the menu by cooking it, they also get the opportunity to share this meal together.

• Sign up for our November 3rd, 4 pm to 7:30 pm, Culinary Event HERE 

• Sponsor a Culinary Gathering Event HERE

Below are some photos from our event today.



October Culinary Event is SOLD OUT!

Dear Friends,

Our October Culinary gathering is SOLD OUT! If you like to join us for the November event, you can get your tickets here.

Sharing food connects us to each other. This is a cooking class followed by a communal meal. These events are held at the professional kitchens of the Bauman College in Berkeley,  and are led by cooking enthusiasts, who carefully craft a five course menu. The participants not only learn the menu by cooking it, they also get the opportunity to share this meal together. See previous event photos in our blog HERE

• October 6th, 4 pm to 7:30 pm, Culinary Event SOLD OUT.

• Sign up for our November 3rd, 4 pm to 7:30 pm, Culinary Event HERE 

• Sponsor a Culinary Gathering Event HERE

WOW! We had a great turn out!!!

Our folk dance team has been invited to perform at TAAC Sacramento Chapter’s Gala this November. We are very excited to be the guest performers for this event for the second year.

This past Tuesday we had a great turn out. We practiced 3 dances, and had another great baglama break period by Burak, which was so much fun!!! Join us next Tuesday!

The language of music and dance is universal and engages us with each other in a meaningful way. We practice different region’s dances year round and perform at various events in the greater Bay Area. Classes are held on Tuesdays, 7:30 pm to 9:15 pm, at Shawl Anderson Dance Studio in Rockridge. See previous event photos in our blog HERE 

• Sign up for our Folk Dance Classes here HERE

• Sponsor a Folk Dance Performance HERE

All of these activities are led by 100% volunteer efforts and are funded by the Berkeley Turkish School. If you would like to volunteer and lead a program that you are passionate about, please contact us.

Thank you for your continuous support and contributions to our programs that bring joy and meaning to our community. We hope to see you at our future events and dance rehearsals.