Summer Nights Festival 2008
This July will surely be a hot one: particularly in Jerusalem, where the Jerusalem Foundation is one again sponsoring its annual Summer Nights Festival: three weeks of diverse cultural events that will be free of charge for all. From July 3rd through the 19th, events will take place that range from theatre to music performances to art shows, all under the framework of the Festival. Venues for the Festival will include the Yellow Submarine, the Gerard Behar Center, HaMa'abada (The Lab) – The Jerusalem Theater, the Koret Liberty Bell Park, the Old Train Station, and the Oman School of Art.
The Summer Nights Festival will commence with an Opening Gala on July 3rd at the Old Train Station. This event will feature the Israel Camerata, one of Israel’s most unique musical groups. The group`s over 100 concerts each year address many of the various cultures that make up Israeli society, and include music from the Baroque period through contemporary compositions. The Kolben Dance Company will be performing as well. The dance group explores contemporary dance, and performs a body of work that is well known for its athleticism, complex partnering, and drama.
A Friday Music Fair will take place throughout the three weeks of the Festival at the Yellow Submarine. Each Friday at 1:00 PM, a different type of music will be featured. Audiences may come to the venue and experience some of Israel’s best rock music, electronic music, and world music. More information about this component of the festival can be found at www.yellowsubmarine.org.
Various dance performances will take place at the Gerard Behar Center, all of them free of charge. A number of Israeli choreographers will be featured, in addition to dance groups such as the Kolben Dance Company and Vertigo Dance Company.
At the Koret Libery Bell Park Amphitheatre, Jerusalemites will enjoy the best of Israeli Folklore and Dance. Several events will take place that highlight this aspect of Israeli culture: Our Folk Sound, Israeli Mix, and Terminal 3.
At HaMaabada (The Lab), families will be welcome to special theatre performances. “Dreaming Animals” is a play based on the book “Once there was a Child Who Didn’t Want to Sleep Alone” by Mira Meir. It is a sweet show about dreams, fears and other animals, combining actors, puppets and Shadow Theatre. A play called “Gulliver – the Journey to Lilliput” will also be featured at the Lab. It is based on the classic book by Jonathan Swift and combines various media in a theatrical language that creates surprising experience, full of imagination.
Beautiful works of art will be displayed at Oman School of Art for the Haredi Community. The creations at this show illuminate the world in a truly unique way, testing the preconceived notions of the beholder. Art will also be exhibited at the Artists House Exhibitions. Featured artists include Yitzchak Greenfield, Arnon Toussia Cohen, and Noa Nahari.
For a relaxed evening, the Old Train Station Site is the address for the Jerusalem Foundation's annual “Moonlight Cinema Festival.” For three nights, there will be outdoor screenings of films, following a live performance.
The final component of the festival is a family event in east Jerusalem. Families will enjoy a street fair replete with clowns, balloon crafting, face-painting, sports contests, inflatable games and more. A musical theatre performance will take place for children called the “City of Joy.” People will also have the opportunity to take in the sounds of Elkantar Debka and the Mawall Dance and Music Ensemble. These Arab music ensembles perform classic and modern pieces, using the oud, darbouka, and more.
These varied events, that will take place as part of the “Summer Nights Festival,” present the public with the best of the creativity and artistry that Jerusalem has to offer. The festival is open to the entire population of the city, people of all ages. Many are taken into account who normally do not have access to the types of opportunities that these events create – like the Haredi community and Arab community.
The “Summer Nights Festival” has already become a part of the summer tradition of the city, catering to inhabitants of the city and visitors from all over the country and the world. An event that was created to revitalize the city and encourage citizens during the time of the Intifada has now become a project that symbolizes all that the Jerusalem Foundation stands for: conserving Jerusalem as a place of creativity, pluralism, and freedom.
Festival Program