Carnival time

Purim is the holiday kids wait for all year. This year, there seem to be more events than ever – so get ready, steady and enjoy!

PARADES

Marking Ramat Hasharon’s 90th anniversary, this year the traditional Ussishkin Street Adloyada will be bigger than ever, with some 1,200 participants who will take part in the parade. It includes the ‘Join the Parade’ Circus from The Netherlands, children’s theater stars Roey and Shay and hundreds of dancers, street performers and marching bands. Also on offer are fantastic floats such as a cake float, a clown float, a magic float, a balloon float and a gift float, as well as a variety of stages and activities along the route. March 9 at 10 a.m.

The annual Holon Adloyada Parade will fill the streets of Holon with children’s delights for the 20th time this Purim. This year’s parade theme is Childhood Flavors – All the Foods that Children Like to Eat. The event is co-sponsored by the Food Channel and Nickelodeon. Expect a variety of gigantic interactive food-themed floats such as a giant Popeye and spinach, a felafel that opens and closes as it spews out dancers, and Peter Pan on a revolving candyladen perch, along with pyrotechnic displays, acrobats, marching bands, street performers, rollerbladers and more. Thursday at 11 a.m.

In Ra’anana the theme is biblical. Some 1,500 students from Ra’anana’s schools and supplementary education programs will march in the parade, wearing colorful costumes and carrying props. March 18 at 11 a.m.
Ahuza St., from Akiva & Levi Eshkol streets to the Mashbir Plaza & Ben-Gurion St.

MUSEUMS
The Israel Museum offers Purim Festival: workshops, a Mad Hatter Tea Party, giant dolls and a surprise show. March 8 from 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and March 9 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Givat Ram, Jerusalem (02) 670-8811; www.english.imjnet.org.il

The Holon Children’s Museum offers Purim activities such as the Masks and Emotions Workshop with hearing-impaired guides, tours of exhibitions for kids of all ages, and more. March 7 and 8 from at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:15 p.m. March 9 at 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. 1 Mifratz Shlomo St. 1- 599-585-858

THEATER FESTIVALS
The Suzanne Dellal Center, together with the Orna Porat Theater and the Tel Aviv Municipality, will be putting on the annual Yaron Festival during Purim in memory of fallen IDF paratrooper Yaron Yerushalmi.

The three-day theater bonanza is jam packed with 13 plays for children of all ages, including four premieres. Among the plays on the program are Baldy Heights, Gali (a musical based on Ehud Manor’s songs), Tales of the So So Prince, Datia’s Store of Shtuzzim, David and Goliath, Button Soup and The Emperor’s New Clothes.
NIS 40 – NIS 90. Next Thursday through Saturday, March 10 Suzanne Dellal Center, Tel Aviv (03) 511-1444 ext. 6 Yehieli St., Neveh Tzedek (03) 510-4037; www.suzannedellal.org.il

The Modi’in / Maccabim Reut Performing Arts Center will host a children’s theater festival. The Purim Stories and Makeup Festival will feature new plays by the Orna Porat Children’s Theater Company. It includes Gali (a musical based on Ehud Manor’s songs), Tales of the So So Prince, Baldy Heights and Tiny Theater (a play suitable for children under three). March 8 - March 10.49 Emek Hadotan St. (08) 973-7333

Another Children’s Theater Festival will be held at the Beit Lessin Theater, It includes Kids’ Play, Chewing Gum Seeds, The Angel and The Wizard of Oz. March 7 – March 10 Dizengoff St., Tel Aviv (03) 524-1333

Nizza Shaul has a Purim special in the Magical Notes Series, this time it is about Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian’s childhood. The colorful Purim production of The Sword Dance at the Masquerade Ball is full of vibrant music, dance and song.