Chicago Turkish Festival

Hello Faithful Readers!

This week I spent three days volunteering for the Chicago Turkish Festival, which was held at Pioneer Court on North Michigan Avenue this year. Lots of wonderful people showed up from all over the country and from Turkey to set up, manage and take down the event. We saw a huge turnout despite the occasional downpour. On Saturday my family and I attended the event as participants, and I finally got to watch the show, including lots of traditional dances and also whirling dervishes, something I didn't get to see while we were in Turkey. I really enjoyed the whole event, both as a volunteer and as a participant. It was so wonderful to be around the Turkish culture again for a few days.

Here is the link to the festival page. http://www.chicagoturkishfestival.com/
I may eventually add some pictures, but I forgot to take my camera to most of the event, so f I do, it will be sparse.

While we were at the festival, it came to my attention that there are some major protests happening in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and probably in other parts of Turkey right now. They started when the city of Istanbul tried to tear out a park in the middle of the city to build a shopping mall, but they have spread. Citizens are protesting the ruling party's recent restrictions on their freedoms and demanding better democracy and more rights. A few people have died from excessive police force, which includes tanks and tear gas. Local businesses and hotels are opening their establishments to the injured and providing food and shelter for the protesters. The Turkish (state-run) media is downplaying the events. There is not much we can do from here except try to make people aware that there is a problem and encourage others to stay informed and aware. I encourage you all to dig for information on these events and do what you can to help.

This week I will be finishing my next book, "Ten Little Beavers," which I plan to publish toward the end of the year, after "Ten Little Geckos" and "Ten Little Hippos." I'm also working on artwork for another series, "Pomphrey Pig..." about a little pink pig that loves sunflowers. You can stay up to date on my writing by following my Amazon.com author page here:
http://www.amazon.com/Rose-Breuer/e/B00D0QSI7S/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1370271097&sr=8-1

Thank you for visiting!

This is me, signing off...