The Panayır, which best translates to a "town fair," has been a staple for the past century in towns in the heart of Anatolia in which producers and peddlers of anything and everything imaginable come together on the same fairgrounds for locals to be able to purchase all of their year-round needs. This event at Bomontiada is an ode to this culture, but instead of displaying products for purchase, the intent is through workshops to teach and show people how to create and make unique products on their own. Coupled by pilates sessions, informative talks and pop-up music concerts, this event will be a unique opportunity to hone a new craft in a spectacular venue.Bomontiada, opened in the historical brewing factory that gave this beloved neighborhood in Şişli its name, is an impressive complex housing a number of innovative venues that will be opening their door to this event, which just also happens to be free. Based in the Avlu, the complex's courtyard, workshops organized by MakerLab will be held at Atölye, a communal workspace, and interaction and creativity platform and at Alt, an art space also housed in the complex. For the most part activities will take place between noon to 10:00 p.m. on weekdays and between 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on the weekends.BomontiadaAdmission to the events taking place at the fair will be free, however to attend any of the 30 workshops and talks that will be taking place during the fortnight it is advised you register at: bomontiada.com/panayirThe full program is as follows: On Friday, Dec. 16, the event kicks off with a musical performance held from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. On Saturday, the fair begins with a one-hour pilates session starting at 11:00 a.m. At 2:00 p.m. and at 4:00 p.m., there will be pop-up music by Plack Attack. In between, at 3:00 p.m., there will be a talk by Burak Ünaldı entitled "Happiness is contagious" at Alt. At 4:30 p.m., there will be a postcard workshop followed by a concert by the Uninvited Jazz Band at 7:00 p.m. The Uninvited Jazz Band is a mix of local musicians, travelers and foreign students that play a mix of jazz and swing with a Turkish twist.On Sunday, Dec. 18, the day starts out with a 3D Printing Workshop held at Atölye from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. At 1:00 p.m. and at 4:00 p.m. there will also be a Pop-up Music performance by Papyon Duo. The music continues with a concert by Swing Mama from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and at 4:30 p.m., there will be a two-hour Magic Paper Workshop held at Atölye.On Tuesday, Dec. 20 there will be a Shibori Workshop at 7:00 p.m. held by at Atölye and on Wednesday, Dec. 21, there will be a concert performance by the popular Turkish alternative group Komik Günler from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.On Thursday, Dec. 22 there will be a talk on Interactive Media and Production Tools by Erdem Dilbaz held from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. On Friday, Dec. 23, the newest addition to Bomontiada, specialty coffee roasters Monochrome will be leading a Coffee Workshop from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and at 4:00 p.m., there will also be a Postcard Workshop at Alt. At 6:00 p.m., Alt will also host a Zendala Workshop from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Zendala being a relaxing form of mandala artistry. Capping off the night will be a musical performance by Jazz Matiz from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.A full-day of events are scheduled for the Christmas weekend starting on Saturday, Dec. 24 with a one-hour pilates session at 11:00 a.m. and A Different Pillow Workshop at Alt held from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. From 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., there will be a Postcard Workshop and from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., there will be a Cupcake for New Year Workshop at Alt. Papyon Duo will take the stage at 2:00 p.m. and at 4:00 p.m., and from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. there will be a macramé workshop held at Alt. On Saturday, Dec. 24 there will also be a Denim Workshop led by Nermin Köse held at Atölye 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., followed by a concert performance from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.On Sunday, Dec. 25, the day commences with another A Different Pillow Workshop at Alt from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. From noon to 4:00 p.m., there will also be a very special Wood Workshop led by Gökhan Eryaman, the founder of Haydanhuya, held at Atölye and pop-up music resumes with Papyon Duo at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. and Karambola at 3:00 p.m. From 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. There will be a Breath Therapy session and at 3:00 p.m. there will be a one-hour Origami Workshop at Alt.One of the other stand-out events will be an Animation Workshop led by Meltem Şahin and held at Atölye from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., in which participants will get to understand how animation works through their own body movements and will be able to create their own collective "anijam" animation strip. The evening commences with a Spatial Energy Cleaning at Alt from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.On Monday, Dec. 26, there will be A Different Pillow Workshop at Alt from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Tuesday, Dec. 27, Ahmet Alpat, Engin Ayaz and Büşra Tunç will deliver a seminar on Turkey and Maker Movement: A Complex Relation at Atölye from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. On Wednesday, Dec. 28 there will be a concert by Swing Mama from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and a Yama Workshop at Atölye from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. On Thursday, Dec. 29, there will be a special discussion entitled Objective: Craftsmanship and Production Culture with Masters led by Aylin Durmaz and craft masters in their field that will take place at Atölye from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.On Friday, Dec, 30, there will be a Zendala workshop held from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The popular Turkish band Luxus, whose unique genre melds gypsy, reggae and Anatolian folk music will be taking the stage for a closing performance from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.Fun for a good causeSmall Projects Istanbul offers workshops for Syrian children.There will be two fun fundraising events this week spearheaded by members of the local expat community. The first will be a Christmas Fundraising Lunch held by Small Projects Istanbul, whose mission is to assist those displaced by the Syrian conflict to access supplemental education and to build sustainable futures in Turkey. This very special lunch will take place from noon to 2:00 p.m. and the cost is TL 100.Country for Syria, a musical group of international musicians who play country music with an Arab twist will also be performing this Wednesday, Dec. 21 at Jurnal in Beyoğlu. Not only have some of the members been directly affected by the Syrian crisis but the band also donates the proceeds to help refugee relief organizations.