City Notes: Nomadic music festival sweeping through Judean Desert oasis

News from around the nation.

By COMPILEDJULIE STEIGERWALD
Pooches on the town in Tel Aviv (photo credit: KFIR SIVAN)
Pooches on the town in Tel Aviv
(photo credit: KFIR SIVAN)
SOUTH
Arad is slated to host the maiden Shutka Festival of Balkan, Gypsy and world music which will transport listeners in a nomadic musical journey from the remote villages of Eastern Europe to the flowing rivers in Turkey to the unruly deserts of the Sahara.
The musical extravaganza will take place on September 16 and 17 at the Beduin-style desert encampment at Kfar Hanokdim, an oasis located between Arad and Masada.
The festival, whose name derives from the largest Gypsy town in Macedonia, seeks to embody the borderless, free spirit of nomadic people at the oasis in the heart of the Judean Desert.
More than a dozen artists will take the stage at the festival, including German-Romanian musician Shantel, Ukrainian band Los Colorados, Serbian electronic folk duo ShazaLakazoo, Israeli-American group Yemen Blues, and Israeli-founded Middle Eastern- African blend ensemble Quarter to Africa.
Along with the musical performances, the 24-hour festivity will also feature circus acts, black-magic displays, burlesque shows, tattoo booths, street performances and film screenings that delve into the ethos of Gypsy culture.
General admission: NIS 250; for soldiers, students and seniors, NIS 230; for children aged four to 12, NIS 70.
CENTER
‘Paper Creatures’ taking over Old Jaffa Museum
The Old Jaffa Museum on September 9 will open an exhibition on paper art, featuring the works of 32 artists from around the world.
According to the museum, the international “Paper Creatures” exhibition seeks to create an unworldly spectacle through artworks made from the simplest of everyday materials – paper.
The works will feature figures such as monsters, strange animal and fairies, all constructed using various techniques such as the Japanese paper-folding art origami, three-dimensional pop-up art and two-dimensional paper cutting.
The exhibition will be curated by Limor Margulis. The show, featuring artists from Portugal, Ireland, Japan, Vietnam and the United States, is due to run until October 29.
General museum admission for adults is NIS 35. For children and Tel Aviv DiiTel “Resident Card” holders, admission is NIS 25.
Paws in the park: TA celebrates International Dog Day
In honor of International Dog Day on Friday, the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality has planned the first citywide event to mark the day dedicated to man’s best friend.
The municipality boasts that the city holds the highest number of dogs per capita, with a ratio of one dog per every 17 residents, therefore making the festivities at the Beni Dan Dog Park all the more fitting.
Attractions at the event will include canine-friendly treats such as a dog “sushi,” a display of Tel Aviv-founded start-ups that serve dogs and their owners, a show of unique products for dog birthdays and a spa for the four-pawed pets.
The festivities are scheduled to run from noon to 7 p.m. on Friday.
NORTH
25,000 cigarette butts cleaned from Kinneret beach
Hundreds of families from the Galilee region participating in an effort to clean the shores of Lake Kinneret’s Tzinbari beach last Saturday collected some 25,000 cigarette butts littered on the ground.
As part of the ‘Free Exit’ initiative organized by the Kinneret Authority and the Association of Galilee Cities, the eco-friendly participants spent six hours scouring the shores of Israel’s largest freshwater lake.
While the initiative to clean the lake’s beaches began in mid-July and will continue until the end of August, Saturday’s collection of cigarette waste reached what thus far in the summer operation amounts to a record amount.
As Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) sees tens of thousands of people flock to its shores during the summer high season, the Kinneret Authority initiated the project. As a perk for those who take part in the cleaning efforts, the authority offers free parking.
This weekend the garbage cleaning efforts will focus on Halukim Beach, located on the northeastern side of the Kinneret.
Technion team twice in top 10 of European motorsport contest
A student team from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology placed twice among the top 10 finalists this summer in the Formula Student motorsport competition in Europe, the Technion announced this week.
The contest, run by the European Institution of Mechanical Engineers, aims to encourage and develop student interest in engineering.
The Technion’s team placed ninth out 34 universities in a competition round in Hungary in late July and placed eighth out of 42 in a round in the Czech Republic in early August. This year’s Technion team comprised 40 students from seven faculties.
Technion’s Formula car, which competed in the combustion engine category, achieved notably high marks in the acceleration heat, the 22-kilometer heat and driving in figure eights. All three were heats that were held on a wet course in the Czech competition.