Christmas came early in Calis on Sunday 9 December when hundreds of families thronged the seafront to attend the first ever Calis Christmas Market and Craft Fair. Despite heavy downpours of rain that threatened to spoil the day, the festive event which was organised by the Calis Carnival Committee, was a huge success and both stallholders and spectators are now asking for the fair to become an annual event in the Calis calendar.
From very early morning when the promenade was gaily festooned with red and green balloons outside all four of the participating restaurants, the Berk, Orient Express, Nil and Bambu, to late in the afternoon, the seafront was a mass of colourful activity. Over 40 stallholders, Turkish, English and German, set up stall both under the restaurant awnings and inside the restaurants, selling a wide range of beautiful crafted items, Christmas decorations, cards, jewellery, cakes, photographs, dried flower arrangements and other goodies. Hot chestnuts and mulled wine were sold from a huge brazier outside the Orient Express along with mince pies and other festive fare and all four restaurants did a roaring trade in drinks and food as the happy crowds milled from one restaurant to another buying Christmas and New Year presents and enjoying the festive atmosphere. Christmas music could be heard everywhere and local singer Kenny, performed popular Christmas songs live to crowds in the Nil.
The highlight of the day for both children and adults alike was the arrival of Father Christmas and the Carnival”s popular mascot Tommy Turtle the Carnival Caretta, in their tinsel decorated jeep-sleigh. The jolly (and by this time rather soggy) twosome distributed sweets to crowds of excited children who had been eagerly waiting their arrival. They then visited all four restaurants to meet the stallholders before Father Christmas took up residence in his “snow” covered grotto outside the Nil to greet local children and hand out presents.
One spectator commented “ This is the most Christmassy I have felt since I moved to Turkey seven years ago, It has been a fabulous day”
Calis Carnival Chairman Peter Clark said, “It has been a great success, everyone really enjoyed it. I would like to thank the bars and restaurants for allowing us to use their premises, the committee for all their hard work, our supporters for the donated items for the committee stalls and everyone who attended in spite of the appalling weather. I would really like to see the fair grow and become an annual event for Calis, bringing all of the communities of Calis together. We made over 1,500 lira profit from the committee stalls and stall fees and this will all go to the carnival charity, helping the deprived and disadvantaged children in the Calis area”
The Christmas Fair was one of a number of fundraising social events being organised by the Calis Carnival Committee in the run up to the first ever Calis Carnival on Saturday 7 June 2008. The committee have already raised over 10,000 lira for the carnival charity from previous events since October 2007.
