National Book Week and the Jerusalem Light Festival, two hotspots on Jerusalem’s summer calendar, kick off this week, but not until Wednesday. Not to worry, though, there’s plenty more going on to hold you over until then.
- The holiday of Shavuot ended Wednesday night, but The Israel Festival keeps the greenery-themed holiday going for a bit longer with a series of performances – in the “living museum” format, no less – Thursday afternoon at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens revolving around the theme of gardens. Classic works drawn upon here include Swan Lake, The Rite of Spring, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. How mega apropos.
- The mall isn’t where you normally think to go for artisan breads and other fancy foods, but every Friday, the Malcha Mall rocks a culinary fair with just that – just in time for the weekend.
- Get out of town Saturday and head to hummus capital Abu Ghosh, where choral music takes center stage for their 38th annual vocal music fest.
- Beit Avi Chai is not known for shying away from heavier subjects – like this Sunday, when they present a program exploring the deeper issues of what the family unit means today, in conjunction with the Institute for Social Justice and including presenter Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau. Admission is free, but subject to available space.
- Idan Haviv’s haunting musical rendition (with the Idan Reichel project) of a poem by a soldier killed in the Yom Kippur war has been getting heavy radio play lately. On Monday, Haviv visits Beit Avi Chai’s auditorium to sing a number of songs with his band.
- As it’s name implies, The Lab Orchestra, fronted by Steven Hornstein, has made rote the act of experimenting and creating groundbreaking sounds. On Tuesday, the innovative group plays the Yellow Submarine in a free show.
- Wednesday is an exciting day/night for Jerusalem, with two major festivals kicking off. First, National Book Week once again takes over Liberty Bell Park with literary products and productions.
And as the sun sets, the Old City plays host to the now-annual Light Festival (pictured), with daring works of lit-up art installed at several locations.
And check out our full events section for everything else happening.
