The 23rd International Sürmeli Festivals have started in Yozgat

The 23rd International Sürmeli Festival, organized by Yozgat Municipality, has begun this year.
The festival started with a parade walk from the Yozgat intercity bus terminal, and citizens walked along Lise Street to Cumhuriyet Square. Before the concert of artist Elmas İler, Yozgat Mayor Kazım Arslan addressed the citizens, stating that they organized the festival to contribute to Yozgat’s social life, saying, “We are together thanks to the Sürmeli events. We will host very valuable artists here for 4 days. We will host very valuable art groups, and we want to contribute, even if just a little, to Yozgat’s social and cultural life. When I was first elected in 2014, I said something while organizing the Sürmeli Festival. I said that Sürmeli will be a festival of the people, not a protocol event. Today, we are doing the same again. Sürmeli is a festival of the people, not a protocol event. Those who want to be with the people will be here with us. Those who do not want to be with the people will be wherever they wish to be.”
Mayor Arslan stated that they will make Yozgat an art city, saying, “We have brought the most beautiful artists of Turkey here. We are not dealing with popular culture. I believe that popular culture has nothing to offer to Yozgat. One of the most beautiful orchestras in Turkey is the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality City Orchestra. A young brother raised in our hometown, Turkish folk music artist Elmas İler, will perform. When we first became mayors in Yozgat in 2014, we established a mehter team within 45 days and managed to have concerts for the people of Yozgat for 5 years. But since 2019, has anyone seen the mehter team again after us? We will not have to bring mehter teams from other provinces for programs anymore. God willing, the Yozgat city orchestra, Turkish folk music groups, and Turkish art music groups will be active shortly. Yozgat will become a cultural city. Yozgat will become an art city. Our people will continue to meet with culture and art. This is our concern and our issue. Thank God we know what to do. We know what to do amidst difficulties and impossibilities, and I believe that we will ensure that the votes given to us by the people of Yozgat will be honored until the very end. No one will speak ill of us, with God’s permission.”
After the speeches, the program continued with a concert by Elmas İler, one of the artists raised in Yozgat. The concert attracted a large audience from Yozgat. After the concert, Yozgat Mayor Kazım Arslan presented a plaque of appreciation to the artist.