Happy holidays in Haifa

The Holiday of Holidays bash certainly helps in that regard.

By BARRY DAVIS
Hag Hahahgim Festival in Haifa (photo credit: BEIT HAGEFEN)
Hag Hahahgim Festival in Haifa
(photo credit: BEIT HAGEFEN)
When the Hag Hahagim (Holiday of Holidays) Festival started out 23 years ago in Haifa, it was a classic exercise in seamless synchronicity. At the time, Hanukka, Christmas and Ramadan coincided – hence the titular choice. As we know, unlike the Gregorian and Hebrew calendars, the Islamic annual cycle does not keep pace with the seasons, hence Ramadan does the rounds of the year, moving back 10 days each year. So, when the 24th edition of the Haifa-based interdenominational event kicks off, on December 14 (through to December 23), Ramadan will still be a long way off, but the sentiment remains intact.
The festival was founded by the Beit Hagefen Arab-Jewish Cultural Center, a non-profit organization that, as the organization’s website states, “strives to establish... shared spaces that contain the diversity of identities and cultures in Israel and worldwide.” The center is located near the formerly mixed Jewish-Arab Wadi Nisnas neighborhood, now home to around 8,000 Arab residents.
During the course of the 10-day festival, locals, as well as people from all over the country who travel to Haifa for the event, can get an eyeful and an earful, not to mention a mouthful, of all sorts of activities and hands-on slots across a broad range of disciplines and cultural interests.
Music is, naturally, a prime ingredient of the agenda, with some top-notch acts lined up. Firkat Al-Nur, an ensemble that specializes in the performance of classical Arab compositions, will proffer a tribute to some of the most memorable sound-track excerpts in the history of Arabic cinema. The movie-themed concert will take place at the Krieger Center, in tandem with the Payis Stages entertainment events.
As the host organization bases its credo on intercultural harmony, it makes perfect sense to feature the Golsa Ensemble (Beit Hagefen Theater, December 15). The troupe culls its materials from a diverse range of backdrops, mixing contemporary sounds with traditional Jewish women’s song. The instrumental side of the proceedings takes in African strings, percussion instruments from across the globe, various guitars and a cello. The one foreign slot extends the festival’s exotic appeal, with the Gansu Tibet Folklore Group bringing the colors and movement aesthetics of their country to these shores.
Elsewhere on the Holiday of Holidays roster is a premiere of a dance show called Dinosaur, comprising two works by choreographer Idan Sharabi. Dinosaur will bring the curtain down on the 10-day program on December 23, at the Beit Hagefen Theater.
There’s much more in store for the festivalgoers, as Beit Hagefen director general Asaf Ron notes.
“We devote a lot more time and resources to the content of the festival now,” says Ron, who has been at the helm for nearly eight years. It is, it seems, a qualitative move designed to make up for the quantitative decrease of recent years.
“We have shortened the festival to just two weekends, instead of three. We believe the content is very important, with substantial arts events. We prefer to have fewer stalls and more art.”
The program conveys that ethos in clear manner. With arts exhibitions laid on at the Beit Hagefen building, a swing party and a debka traditional folk-dance party also in the lineup. There are also activities for children, an open-house trail and a Santa Claus parade in the Holiday of Holidays mix.
The festival not only aims to identify common denominators between the different sectors of Israeli society, it will also highlight the uniqueness of each individual community and its specific cultural and historical baggage.
“We have the Self-Collection exhibition [at Beit Hagefen],” Ron continues. “We also have an evening of talks on the topic, about gathering smells, antiques, memories and individual narratives, which will take place in pubs in the neighborhood.”
The latter sounds like a cozy affair, and as far as Ron is concerned, small is the way to go.
“In the past the festival had some grandiose events. Now we address the different topics at ground level. We offer music on a level that anyone can appreciate.”
The festival, says Ron, is a user-friendly affair, right across the age and societal spectrum.
“We built a place called ‘The Family Stage’ at Beit Hagefen. It is a very comfortable place with a relaxed atmosphere. There is plenty of room there – it has a capacity of 1,500. Families can sit in front of the stage and Jews and Arabs can enjoy the entertainment together, children with their parents. The shows on the stage are presented in one of the languages, Hebrew or Arabic, or both.”
Ron is keen to point out that while the festival is an important event in the Beit Hagefen calendar and in Haifa, it is not a standalone event.
“We have a charming storytelling event before Hag Hahagim, with stories about Haifa, which sort of leads into the festival. Hag Hahagim is our biggest production and we like it a lot. It is symbolically important and it connects everyone. But it does not come in place of all the smaller things, the activities and processes we run throughout the year.”
Over the years of his tenure, Ron says that Beit Hagefen has widened its consumer hinterland appreciably.
“I think the philosophy has changed from being a community center with a local purview to a cultural center that is both urban and national.”
In fact, word of the NPO’s work is getting out further afield.
“Just this morning, the Chinese deputy minister of culture visited us,” Ron notes. “He came to Haifa, and besides the Bahai Gardens, the only place he visited was Beit Hagefen. They brought a Tibetan dance group to the festival this year. And all the members of staff of the Swedish Embassy’s cultural department are coming to visit, to examine possibilities of collaboration. We want people to know what we are doing here.”
The Holiday of Holidays bash certainly helps in that regard. Ron wants to get knowledge of the positive vibes out to the media and the general public.
“We have a wonderful youth club where Jews and Arabs meet every week – around 200 youths in eight groups. They have sessions at which they discuss things like art, music and dialogue. No one writes about that. But if there is ever a fight, that makes the headlines.”
Ron says the proof of the integrative pudding approach is in plain view.
“I don’t think that this sort of activity will necessarily change political opinions, but it will change the way people relate to each other, on a personal level. That, really, also eventually affects political opinions.”
There are a few “surprises” to be had over the 10 days of the Haifa festival too. Many believe, for example, that Father Christmas leaves Lapland every Christmas Eve, hops on his sled and goes on a whirlwind tour of the homes of all well-behaved boys and girls, the world over, dropping down their chimneys and depositing great gifts under the family Christmas tree. Ron has a scoop.
“The original Santa Claus lives here in Wadi Nisnas and you can visit him during the Open House event in the festival. Santa Claus is an original Haifaite,” Ron laughs. “The same guy has been doing this here for 30 years, visiting hospitals and other places. And, for the whole 24 years of Holiday of Holidays, he has been receiving thousands of people at his home.”
Naturally, the victuals side of the festival is well cared for too. “Everyone gets to eat here,” says Ron. “There’s plenty of food available. No one will go away hungry.”
All the above, in addition to an antiques market, a Christmas parade, and a weeklong hands-on circus spot, should leave Holiday of Holidays patrons with a smile on their face and, possibly, a song in their heart.
For more information: www.beit-hagefen.com