Out & about

Top 10 things to do: From movies to music to sports to plays, find out what is going on in Israel this weekend.

By SHAWN RODGERS
Holiday festival 521 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Holiday festival 521
(photo credit: Courtesy)
1. Film:  MEGAMIND DreamWorks Animation presents this satirical take on the superhero genre focusing on a down-and-out supervillain (voiced by Will Ferrell) who has to learn how to get his groove back when he’s left without an arch nemesis in this comedy from directors Cameron Hood and Kyle Arthur Jefferson. Tina Fey and Jonah Hill fill out the rest of the toplined voice cast.At selected cinemas throughout the country.
2. Festival: HAIFA FUN Taking place in Haifa’s mixed Arab-Jewish Wadi Nisnas neighborhood, the 17th Holiday of Holidays festival celebrates the good relations that exist between various religious groups in the area. Events of note include an open-air exhibition on the subject of Neighborhoods, a Christmastree- lined boulevard with festive lights and decorations; church liturgical concerts; an international writers convention; activities and exhibitions for children and much more.Opens December 10, www.haifahag.co.il
3. Dance: MOVING LEGENDS Commissioned by the Israel Festival, Kyr was the first dance that choreographer Ohad Naharin created after assuming the artistic directorship of Batsheva in 1990. It featured a musical collaboration between Naharin and the band Nikmat Hatraktor. Meanwhile, Zina, which opened the Israel Festival in 1995, also left a strong impact with striking images, memorable props, and an original score composed by popular music icon Ivri Lider and Naharin. This week, Suzanne Dellal presents a revised version of Kyr/Zina, commemorating Naharin’s 20 years as artistic director of Batsheva.Runs Wednesday through December 29, Rehov Yehieli 5, Tel Aviv, (03) 510-5656.
4. Sport: COOL RUNNINGS Enjoy the thrill of running between the flowing streams and waterways, facing the scenic Gilboa mountain range, as part of Israel’s half-marathon qualifying race. This year there will also be a 2-km. trail for the whole family and an outdoor health and sports fair (weather permitting).Tomorrow, 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon, Gan Hashlosha National Park, Sachne, beside Kibbutz Nir David, (04) 658-6219.
5. Music: YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAR Alma Zohar – who is the stepdaughter of musician Ya’acov Rotblit – flows between world beats, rock, pop, soul, reggae, jazz and country elements in her music. She employs highlevel Hebrew in her texts, and she even throws in words from the Bible. Catch this talented musician as she perform songs from her previous two albums. Between songs, Zohar will talk about her work, her childhood in Jerusalem, the musical influence of her stepfather and her mother’s death.Saturday, 10 p.m., Beit Avi Chai, 44 King George Avenue, Jerusalem, (02) 621-5900.
6. MOSHAV MADNESS The Moshav Band’s blend of rock, folk, reggae and Middle Eastern music has achieved success not only in Israel but also in America, where the group was recently on tour. Brothers Yehuda, Meir and Yosef Solomon, as well as friend David Swirsky, grew up in Moshav Mevo Modi’im, the birthplace of many popular Jewish songs. Catch the band as they perform a show comprising not only their past hits, but also material from their latest English-language album, Dangerous World.Tonight, 10:30, Hamakom, Rehov Brenner, Tel Aviv, www.moshavband.com
7. Opera: GLASS CASTLE The Israeli Opera presents a special opera-concert evening featuring Bela Bartok’s psychological one-act opera, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, presented with a special set that comprises seven glass doors created by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. The Bartok opera is preceded, in the first part of the program, by Mahler’s poignant song cycle Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children). Shirit Lee Weiss directs the opera which also features Alex Ansky as narrator. In Hungarian/German with Hebrew and English surtitles.Runs Wednesday through December 25, www.israel-opera.co.il

8. Kids: CHILDREN’S GAMES The Noa Dar Dance Company is staging a production based on Flemish artist Pieter Brueghel’s masterpiece “Children’s Games.” The performance focuses on and magnifies the microcosms of the playground. The atmosphere shifts rapidly between violence, friendship, fantasy and humor. This multi-disciplined production involves dance, live music, acting, circus and video. A must for children of all ages, as well as for adults.Today, 10:30 a.m., Israel Museum, Jerusalem,. (02) 670-8811.
9. IN THE MIDST OF THE NIGHT During Hamshushalayim, The Bible Lands Museum will be a gathering place for things that go bump in the night. Follow guides by torchlight as they lead visitors through a chilling journey in the footsteps of the ancient world’s dark side: Meet the spirit of Antiochus, an ancient Mesopotamian spirit, mummies, ghosts, wizards and sorcerers, and the maternal ghost (vocalist) singing songs of doom and more. NIS 10.Tonight and next Thursday, tours will begin every half hour from 8:30 p.m. till 11 p.m., www.blmj.org
10. Upcoming festival: ONE-ACT PLAY In celebration of 13 years of drama, the Short Play Festival runs for three days at Tel Aviv’s Tzavta Theater. Eight plays were chosen from among the 130 submitted and two or three will be given at each performance. They include You Got a Lump by Uri Urian and Roni Hadar, a musical telenovela set in a sleepy Spanish town in which three actors play all the characters; Ida Pink’s Description of a Morning which examines survival and sanity; and In the Theater, written and directed by Dafna Zilberg, looking at, well, life in the theater. In Hebrew.Runs December 22 through 25, Tzavta Theater, Rehov Ibn Gvirol 30, Tel Aviv.
(03) 695-0156.