In Turkish-American communities across the United States, August 8th marked the culmination of the Holy Month of Ramadan. The last meal to break fast was eaten at sundown the previous day, and a special Eid al-Fitr prayer was offered early the following morning. Whether in Madison, Wisconsin, Mount Prospect, Illinois, or Newcastle, Washington, many of TAA’s component organizations celebrated this special, joyous time in their communities with family and with friends, both old and new.
Turkish American Cultural Community Center-Madison
Turkish American Federation of Midwest
The Turkish American Cultural Community Center of Madison (TACC-Madison) celebrated Eid al-Fitr (Ramazan Bayramı in Turkish) with a picnic at Hoyt Park, a lush getaway that offers pavilions, hiking trails, restored historic fireplaces, a full-size basketball court, and a large field for recreational activities. A well-known spot in Madison, dozens of community members from both Madison and surrounding towns and cities attended the festivities. Following a delicious dinner, both adults and children entertained themselves with games and fun recreational activities. The adults played tug-of-war and held egg-and-spoon races, while children jumped and played on a big moon bounce. The children also received toys and other presents, a special Eid al-Fitr tradition.
The Turkish American Cultural Center of Madison is a unit of the Turkish American Cultural Foundation of Wisconsin. TACC-Madison was established on August 29, 2008. Their mission is “to promote a better understanding and closer relations between the Turkish-American Community and other communities in Madison, Wisconsin, through cultural activities and social gatherings.” Additionally, TACC-Madison works to preserve their community’s Turkish culture and traditions by responding to the social and cultural needs of its members, while also sharing it with American members of the Madison community.
Turkish American Society of Chicago
Turkish American Federation of Midwest
A few hours southeast of Madison, another Midwest Turkish-American community celebrated Eid al-Fitr. In Mont Prospect, Illinois, a town about 22 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, the Turkish American Society of Chicago (TASC) collaborated with the Yunus Emre Islamic Center (YEIC) to host its first Eid al-Fitr. The event took place in the Safranbolu Hall of TASC’s newly built Cultural Center. Safranbolu Hall is beautifully designed with the famously well-preserved Ottoman-era homes and architecture of Safranbolu in mind. Safranbolu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a town and district of Karabük Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey.
The festivities began at 7:30am with a Qur’anic recitation, followed by the Eid prayer at 8:00am. After the prayer, a feast-like breakfast was served to the 400 guests who attended the event. Children seemed to have the most fun throughout the morning, receiving gifts, cotton candy, popcorn, and getting their faces painted.
TASC is a subsidiary of the Niagara Educational Services (NES), a non-profit organization founded in 1997. TASC is dedicated to addressing the social and cultural needs of the Turkish American community living in the Chicago area. TASC’s missions include introducing the Turkish culture and establishing bridges between different cultures; uniting the Turkish-American community; meeting the cultural and social needs of Turkish-Americans living in the greater Chicago area; providing the community with educational services; establishing dialogue among the communities, which is a facilitator for global peace; and creating a welcoming environment for newcomers to help them adapt to life in the United States.
YEIC is a not-for-profit, non-governmental, and non-partisan organization, established in 2006. The primary purpose of the organization is to provide religious services to Muslim-American communities in the greater Chicago area. YEIC also engages locally in projects of interfaith co-operation and dialogue with the communities from other faith traditions to promote peace, understanding and mutual respect.
Acacia Foundation
West America Turkic Council
The Acacia Foundation celebrated their 10th Annual Turkish Community Picnic and Eid al-Fitr Celebration at Newcastle Beach Park in Bellevue, a city located just across Lake Washington from Seattle. Newcastle Beach Park is the largest of its kind in Bellevue and features amenities such as swimming, a nature trail, a children’s playground, and pavilion areas. Children particularly enjoyed themselves at the picnic by wishing their elders a happy Eid and receiving gifts of small monetary amounts in return. Hundreds of guests attended this event.
The Acacia Foundation is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2002 by a group of volunteers comprised of businessmen and women, engineers, academicians and students. A member organization to the West America Turkic Council, its mission is to promote cross-cultural dialogue by emphasizing universal values such as love, truth, faith, brotherhood, solidarity, and sharing; to encourage strong family values, morals and ethics in the community; and to help establish a society in which individuals love, respect, and accept one another. The Acacia Foundation also seeks to strengthen civil society by serving their communities, and by bringing diverse sectors of the community together through conferences, panels, art performances, cultural trips to Turkey, dialogue and friendship dinners, and picnics.
