On June 10th, 2014, a Turkish Cultural Center was opened in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that brought together several political and community leaders. Distinguished guests included the Mayor of Harrisburg, Eric Papenfuse, State Senators and Representatives. Among them were Senator Michael Stack, Senator Mike Brubaker, Representative Brendan Boyle, and Carol Weist, Director of Operations for Congressman Scott Perry.
The afternoon reception began with opening speeches by the Mayor of Harrisburg, Eric Papenfuse, who expressed that he was pleased with the opening. According to Mr. Papenfuse, the Cultural Center is an integral part of the city that would “help attract international investment to the city and support Pennsylvania’s economic recovery.”
Sait Onal, president of the Turkish Cultural Center in Harrisburg, shared the importance of promoting culture, language and businesses investments from Turkey. “Our goal is to help people know about our culture and to make where we live better,” stated Onal. He also talked about the cultural center’s plans to organize a trade mission to Turkey in order to explore the potential of establishing import-export trade partnerships in the energy sector between the U.S. and Turkey. Senator Mike Stack, who traveled to Turkey with representatives from the Turkish Cultural Center a few years ago gave brief remarks on his experience and the hospitality of the Turkish people.
The new offices are located at State Street Building, 500 North Third Street, 7th Floor, Harrisburg, PA. The offices will be open to the public and will provide Turkish classes, art presentations, conferences and host meetings. This year the cultural center also plans to participate in the monthly “3rd in the Burg”, an initiative aimed at establishing and maintaining arts, entertainment and culture. The initiative is held on the third Friday of every month. The Turkish Cultural Center in Harrisburg joins the cities of Lancaster, Allentown, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as branches of the Turkish Cultural Centers in Pennsylvania.
Later in the evening, the Turkish Cultural Center hosted its 5th annual Turkic Cultural day at the State Capitol in Rotunda. Notable distinguished guests included Senator Michael Stack, Senator Mike Brubaker, Representative James Roebuck, Representative Brendan Boyle, Representative Rosemarie Swanger and Representative Rosita Youngblood.
The event began with a welcome speech by Sait Onal, followed by brief remarks from the distinguished guests, mentioning the value of maintaining strong relationships with the Turkic countries and the Turkic community in Pennsylvania. A variety of Turkic delicacies was served and on display were exhibits of Turkish music, art and calligraphy.
The Turkish Cultural Centers are member organizations of the Council of Turkic American Associations (CTAA), which aims to promote cultural awareness and engage in dialogue through annual friendship dinners, Turkey trips and luncheon forums. CTAA is one of six member federations under the Turkic American Alliance (TAA), which is located in Washington, D.C.
