A mixture of Halloween and Mardi Gras, Purim is high season for partying in Jerusalem, stores filling with costumes and alcohol sales hitting record numbers weeks in advance. A great leveler, Purim in Jerusalem sees religious and secular, young and old, getting wasted and getting down.

The annual party thrown by the Student Union of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, meanwhile, has become as much a fixture of Purim in Jerusalem as the traditional hamentashen treats and the cap guns that every boy under the age of eight seems to be sporting. This year, Bezalel has joined forces with Hebrew University's Student Union for what they are billing as the party - and the rivalry - of the years.

The February 28th party, which planners expect to draw some 6,000 groovy souls, will feature two competing circus tents - a mainstream tent organized by the Hebrew University Student Union and a freak show organized by the Bezalel Student Union. Among the party's draws are teams of acrobats, 3D art, a marathon of standup comedy, salsa dancing, a DJ set from Galgalatz radio's Omri Ronen, marching band Marsh Dandurma and a plush chillout area.

Rona Orovano, the deputy chair of Bezalel's Student Union, describes the planned revelry to Jerusalem.com. "We are planning a crazy party this year at the Jerusalem Theatre," she says. "The whole front of the theater will be converted into two large circus tents - one will be a classic circus tent with the classic colors and all that, and the second tent will be a freak show decorated with all the freaky things that also accompany a circus. We're going to have mainstream music in the Hebrew University tent and the best underground music in our tent. We're planning on having people flying in the sky, fire dancers - a real carnival."

For the Bezalel students, kings of the alternative underground, a collaboration with the more mainstream Student Union - who has been organizing some killer parties themselves lately - is a departure from the status quo. Orovano justifies the decision to join forces, explaining, "For the past two years, our parties were being co-opted by some shady characters. This year we wanted to take our party back, so we needed to partner with a bigger organization. We wanted to partner with another organization that is dedicated to student life in Jerusalem."

However, Orovano asserts that no credibility will be lost in the shuffle. "But it's still a rivalry - each side is going to do the best they can," she says. "It's a contest. We're going to see who puts on the best show. Bezalel is the most underground student union, and Hebrew U. is the most mainstream. We want to show them how good it is to be the underdog."

Doors open at 10pm, and the party will last as long as people are willing to get down.