Pekmez Festival in Ozanköy to Open on 28 August with a Concert by Leman Sam

The 18th Pekmez Festival in Ozanköy will take place from 28 to 30 August and will be the first event in the Girne Arkın Group Fest26 programme. This was announced by the Girne Municipality.

The festival tents will open at 18:00 on Friday. Official speeches and a traditional tasting of fresh grape must will begin at 19:00, followed at 19:15 by a performance from the Girne Municipality Folk Dance Ensemble, at 19:30 by Grup Otantik, and at 20:45 by the Ozanköy Culture and Arts Society Folk Dance Ensemble. Singer Leman Sam will take the stage at 21:00.

On the second day, Saturday, the tents will open again at 18:00. At 19:00, there will be a presentation on the life and poetry of poet Osman Türkay, followed at 19:15 by a paluze-making workshop led by Fezile Barut, at 19:30 by a drum show by Meryem Şah, and at 19:45 by a concert by Ebru & Amor Latino. Folk groups from Serbia and Poland will perform at 20:45. The evening will conclude with the traditional Ozanköy Sports Club lottery at 21:00 and a concert by Sinan Güzen at 21:30.

On Sunday, the pekmez dessert competition will begin at 19:00. At 19:15, Sevgül Yanaroğlu will demonstrate how to make flour halva with grape must and pekmez, followed at 19:30 by a performance from the Yağmur Özerem Trio and at 20:30 by the Alayköy Culture and Arts Society Folk Dance Ensemble (Alayköy). The competition results will be announced at 20:45, followed by a lottery at 21:00 and the final concert by Hikmet Kurtarıcıoğulları’s band at 21:30.

Over the three days, the festival programme will feature concerts, folk dance performances, poetry readings, cooking workshops and competitions. Pekmez is a boiled-down grape syrup traditionally made in Northern Cyprus at the end of summer, together with şıra, fresh grape must.