Turkish Canadian Cultural Association of Calgary

THE TCCA is HERE FOR YOU! Bringing together Turks and Calgarians since 1981

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Serhan Tarkan - President

Pınar Erbenlioğlu - Secretary

Haslet Pekdemir - Treasurer

Big goals, big dreams - team player.

Haslet Pekdemir - Treasurer

Pınar Erbenlioğlu - Secretary

Haslet Pekdemir - Treasurer

Banker by career, treasurer by volunteer.

Pınar Erbenlioğlu - Secretary

Our turbulent yet fun secretary.

Selma Akiz - Vice President

Pınar Erbenlioğlu - Secretary

Lawyer and the analytical thinker of our organization

Volunteers

Selma Akiz - Vice President

Volunteers

We have so many who come out to support our association.

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT

Secular State Structures

The Turkish Canadian Cultural Association of Calgary was founded in 1981 by Turkish families who came to Calgary to work in the oil & gas sector. They created the Association in order promote and protect free, independent and secular state structures within the framework of the basic founding ideas of Turkiye and Canada, and to bring together the Turkish community in and around Calgary.

While many of the founding members are no longer with us, the TCCA of Calgary continues to support and foster the revolutionary and Turkiye's first President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk vision of "Peace at home, Peace in the World"

To this end, the Objectives of the Society are:

To promote cultural interaction and friendship between the Turks and other Canadians.
To promote solidarity among the Turks residing in Alberta.
To provide for the recreation of the members and to promote and afford opportunity for friendly and social activities.
To procure the delivery of lectures on social, educational, political, economic and other subjects both in Turkish and in English, and to give and arrange musical, dramatical and folklore entertainment.
To provide for educational opportunities to the children of the members of the Society in the Turkish language on subjects relating to the Turkish culture, ethics, art, music, history, geography and folk dances.
To provide a centre and suitable meeting place for the various activities of the Society.
To represent the ethnic interests of the members of the Society to third parties.
To apply and become a member of any federative organization which serves to realize the goals of this association.
To provide direction and guidance for new Calgarian Turks adapting to the society and culture of Calgary, Alberta and Canada as a whole.
To promote and protect the ideology of founding fathers and principles of free, independent, united and secular governing systems for both Turkey and Canada within its means and capabilities, to represent and defend the interests of the Turkish Community with respect to the interactions with the City, Province and the Federal officials as well as other non-governmental societies and federative organizations.

Our Programs

Run by Volunteers

Celebrating National Holidays

Run by Volunteers

We are a group of volunteers who work to bring the members of our Turkish community in Calgary together for traditional events. We also strive to improve the exposure of Turkiye to Calgarians in our own community.

The Board of Directors are elected for a term of 2 years and generally consist of 5-7 members. We have many other volunteers who assist in helping organize the various events that we put on during the year.

If you'd like to volunteer to help the TCCA, please get in touch with us today!

Sunday School

Celebrating National Holidays

Run by Volunteers

Every Sunday during the school year between 1-4pm, we bring together our community for Turkish classes for our kids, traditional Ebru artwork for the parents, Saz music classes and various other activities.

Turkish School is an inclusive place where our members gather in the cafeteria and share stories about their experiences in Calgary or reminisce about the old days in Turkiye.

Sunday School takes place in the heart of Calgary at at Western Canada High School. at 641 17 Avenue SW. Free parking is available in the back of the school.

Celebrating National Holidays

Our community is comprised of people who are proud of Turkiye's heritage and the various holidays that are pertinent to the fabric of Turkish society. Some of the key annual events are:

23 Nisan - April 23rd (National Sovereignty and Children's Day)
19 May - May 19th (Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day
30 Agustos - August 30th (Victory Day)
29 Ekim - October 29th (Republic Day)
10 Kasim - November 10th (Ataturk Memorial Day)

About Us

Began in 1981

Looking to the Future

The TCCA of Calgary began operating as a non-profit group in Calgary, Alberta in 1981. Back then, the group comprised of mostly engineers and geologists and their families who came to Calgary for the booming oil and gas sector. While some have moved back to Turkiye for retirement, a lot of the original members and their kids still call Calgary their home.

Looking to the Future

While everyone who comes to our events has their own circumstances, it is generally understood that most of the many hours volunteering for the TCCA is to provide a brighter future for our kids and a place where they feel like they can learn and take part in our own culture.

As of Today...

Looking to the Future

As of Today...

We are over 150 families who call Calgary their home. While we have come from all different parts of Turkey and different times to Canada, we all strive to pass on our culture to our kids as well as the general population of Calgary.