For the fifth year in a row, actors and musicians with special needs will be center stage in Jerusalem for five days in June, during the Creative Special Needs Festival, a municipality initiative showcasing dozens of musical groups, theater groups, and artists that use art as a means of expression to overcome and explain physical and emotional disabilities.
The festival, which takes place from June 12 to 16, will feature 51 performances at the capital’s most prestigious performance spaces, such as the Jerusalem Theater, Mishkenot Sha’ananim, the Gerard Behar Center and Beit Shmuel.
Special performances include the opening night performance of “Wheels of
Magic,” a ballroom dance performance incorporating wheelchairs, set to
the music of the SHEKEL drummers corps and Scottish musicians.
SHEKEL is a non-profit organization that helps people with special needs.
According to the municipality, there are 20,000 Jerusalemites with special needs, including physical and emotional disabilities.
Attorney Yossi Sharavi, the director of the culture, society and leisure
administration in the municipality, credited the festival for giving a
unique sense of independence and self-confidence to people dealing with
disabilities.
“The festival is an opportunity to share with the family members and the
general public the unique offerings from the participants with special
needs as well as the artistic and creative works of this population,” he
said.
More information about the festival is available by calling the Jerusalem Municipality hotline at *106.