Marked by the brassy melodies of the Adana Metropolitan Municipality Band, the 14th International Orange Blossom Carnival has kicked off at Merkez Park, welcoming crowds to a sprawling celebration of street food, handicrafts and spring festivities.
Between browsing rows of artisanal souvenirs and sampling local delicacies, visitors found themselves swept up in the music, joining in on the choruses and marches as they explored the family-filled grounds of Merkez Park.
As part of the carnival, two exhibitions were opened at the Adana Museum Complex: the “Vagabond Art Mixed Painting Exhibition,” featuring paintings and sculptures, and “From Loop to Memory,” showcasing beadwork and traditional headscarves unique to the city.
Gülşah Seydaoğlu, curator of the “From Loop to Memory” exhibition, told state-run Anadolu Agency that the exhibition will be open to visitors until April 5.
Seydaoğlu noted that women in Adana incorporate agricultural products into their headscarf embroidery, saying: “In Adana, women reinterpret what grows in the soil by observing nature and their surroundings, transforming these into new motifs and transferring them onto their headscarves. Women reinterpret nature and carry it to the edge of a headscarf through needlework.”
The 14th International Orange Blossom Carnival, which will feature concerts, cultural, artistic and sporting events, competitions, and a costumed parade, will run until April 5.
