Holon by design The fourth annual Holon Design Week kicks off next week and includes a packed lineup of events for all the family. The nine-day program, which runs from April 16 to 24, will also feature an intriguing encounter between Austrian designers and arts manufacturers, and their Israeli counterparts. Among the exhibitions that Holon Design Week incorporates is the new “Playing at the Design Museum” show, which will open at the Holon Design Museum and focus on two major areas of design for children: contemporary illustration and playgrounds. There will also be design-based exhibitions at galleries around the city, at the HIT compound and at the Israel Digital Arts Center. Followers of fashion may be interested in Oded Arma's “Platform” exhibition of shows at the Beit Meierov Center gallery, which will display items from the 2014 collection as well as the process of compiling the show. There will be more haute couture-oriented items on display in the “Renaissance of Men's Style” exhibition at the Azrieli Center in Holon's industrial area. Maoz Dahan will show off his 2014 exclusively black collection of men's designs. On the comedic side of the visual arts, the outdoor “Humor on the High Street” exhibition on Dov Hoz Boulevard, curated by Yoram Shamir, will feature a wide range of historic posters and billboard advertisements with political, financial and cultural topics. In addition to the spectator items, there will be some hands-on design activities for the general public at the Mediatheque Center. Many of the events and activities will be free between April 16 and 19. For more information: www.dmh.org.il. Czeching the Zen Dance The Einav Center in Tel Aviv will host a performance of Zen Dance by choreographers Liat Dror and Nir Ben-Gal next weekend. The April 19 production, which begins at 9 p.m., also features avant-garde Czech vocalist and violinist Iva Bittova, who will appear in Israel for the first time. The work is based on the Zen approach to communicating between people in a gentle way, and the dancers will attempt to establish a reciprocal channel of communicating with the audience. The Mitzpe Ramon-based Dror and Ben-Gal will also perform the work, along with a seven-member troupe, at the Western Galilee's Kibbutz Kabri on April 16 at 9 p.m., as well as at their home base – Mitzpe Ramon's Adama Hangar – on April 20 at 9 p.m. For tickets and more information: (03) 521-7763, (03) 521- 7766 or www.pashbar.co.il. Country music at Latrun The Latrun Monastery will ring to the sounds of country and American folk music at noon on April 19. Performing the repertoire will be Jacob's Ladder Festival favorites singer Maya Johanna Menachem, guitarist-harmonica player Shai Tochner, and dynamic violinist, clarinetist and mandolin player Yonatan Miller. For tickets and more information: (02) 535-6954. Rocking the kids Twenty-to-40-year-olds looking to bathe in the warm glow – and musical grooves – of nostalgia should get themselves over to Tzavta in Tel Aviv on April 18 for the Binbatron show. The rock-and-roll extravaganza will feature children's songs that were originally performed as entries to the annual Festigal children's song competition in the 1970s, '80s and '90s. The show, which starts at 11:30 a.m., was initiated by singer-guitarist Yehonatan Leibowitz. Accompanying him will be singer and multi-instrumentalist Yonatan Miller, keyboardist- vocalist Alon Kaplan, bassist-vocalist Omri Lutzki and drummer-vocalist Hod Sarid. For tickets and more information: (03) 695-01567. Acre Festival winner's vampire presentation 2013 Acre Festival Prize winner Yaron Edelstein's play The Vampire, The Thief, The Whore and The Moon is now on show at the Beit Zvi School of Acting in Ramat Gan. The production, which will run until April 13, is based on a children's legend and conjures up a host of fantasy characters, from a nameless girl to a two-headed creature, aging dream factory workers and a heartbroken princess. For more information: (03) 578-3447 and www.beit-zvi.com.
