City Notes: Haifa Stairs Race to hit the road running
A round up of current events from around the nation.
By JULIE STEIGERWALDThousands of participants are expected to lace up their shoes for the 3.5-km. Haifa Stairs Race(photo credit: FACEBOOK/HAIFA STAIRS RACE)NorthThe fifth annual Haifa Stairs Race is set to hit the road on May 26 in the northern port city.Thousands of participants are expected to take part in the 3.5-kilometer run that is celebrated for its scenic route.Runners of all ages and levels of experience are welcome to participate in the race. The event is due to set off from the city’s Port Campus before crossing the finish line at Mount Carmel National Park.To register: haifastairs.co.il/wp/registration/.CENTERIsraeli-Palestinian water treatment plan unveiled The first installment of a joint Israeli- Palestinian effort to treat wastewater throughout the Kidron Valley was unveiled Thursday in the West Bank town of Ubeidiya.The Ubeidiya Pilot Wetland Wastewater Treatment System seeks to service the sewage from local schools by implementing septic tanks to filter wastewater and making the treated water reusable for irrigation of the educational garden and playground of two nearby schools.The project was initiated to help deal with 15 million cubic meters of untreated sewage that is annually dumped into the Kidron Valley, polluting vital groundwater sources for locals.As part of the more than year-long cooperation between the Ubeidiya municipality, private citizens, Israeli and Palestinian academics and Israeli and Palestinian NGOs, Thursday’s event inaugurated the low-cost, low-tech, environmentally-friendly venture. The event included an inaugural speech by Ubeidiya Mayor Suleiman al-Assa, site tours and a workshop on the technical, logistical and political challenged surrounding the endeavor.Pole-dance contest swings into Tel Aviv The first international pole-dance competition swings its way into Tel Aviv on Saturday (May 6).Performing under the guise of the film character of their choosing, competitors in the “Pole Theme Israel” contest will be judged for their acrobatics, flexibility and choreography on both static and spinning poles.Along with dance routines, judges will also rank participants on their expression of character – including costumes, hairstyles and makeup. Dancers are given free range of artistic expression to choreograph their own routines, and they may also make use of props and members of the audience as part of their numbers.More than 40 competitors from top pole-dance studios in Israel and abroad are expected to take part in the event. Additional details about ticket purchase and availability will be provided in the days leading up to the competition on its Facebook page: www.facebook.com/events/109156669601433/ Baskula, 72 Harakevet Street, Tel Aviv, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.Top innovators to take on TAU summit Some 7,000 world leaders in the fields of technology, venture capitalism and entrepreneurship are due to flock to the “tech capital” of the Start-Up Nation May 7 to 9 for the fourth-annual Tel Aviv University Innovation Conference.Hailed as a benchmark event in the region and worldwide, the conference will feature more than 100 exhibitor pavilions at a start-up expo and 35 fringe events. Along with networking opportunities, the summit will provide opportunities for business development and creativity brainstorming.The conference will also feature a keynote speaker event featuring industry leaders from top firms including YouTube, Yelp, Intel, Teva, Amdocs and more. In addition, the three-day event will include the ‘TLV Start-up Challenge,” in which 80 start-ups will compete for three prestigious top prizes that will accelerate their business aspirations. Other events include an exclusive cocktail party, bar events on Tel Aviv’s central Rothschild Boulevard and start-up-centric seminars.Regular admission tickets cost NIS 730; VIP tickets are on sale for NIS 1,830. For registration and further details, visit: tau-innovation.com/index.SOUTH Free entrance to museums on Lag Ba’omer Coinciding with Lag Ba’omer, dozens of museums throughout the country will open their doors for free public entrance on May 14.The Association of Museums in Israel decided in cooperation with various national museums to hold the openings free of charge to mark International Museum Day, which traditionally falls on May 18.Museums in the South participating the festivities include the Negev Museum of Art and the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures, both located in Beersheba.Museums providing free admission in the North include the Haifa Museum of Art, the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art in Haifa, the University of Haifa’s Hecht Museum, the Haifa City Museum, the Khan Museum in Hadera, the Mané Katz Museum in Haifa, Haifa’s Hermann Struck Museum, the Archeological Museum at Kibbutz Ein Dor, the Bar David Museum at Kibbutz Bar’am and the Watchman’s House Museum at Kfar Giladi.Among museums in the Center taking part in the open day are: the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv’s Rubin Museum, the Hagana Museum in Tel Aviv, the Palmah Museum in Ramat Aviv, the Irgun Zva’i Leumi Museum in Tel Aviv, the Ramle Museum, the Petah Tikva Museum, the Clore Garden of Science at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, the Rishon Lezion Museum and the Diamond Museum in Ramat Gan.Info: (03) 956-5977.