Nowadays, we could all do with getting away from the depressing reality of life in these parts from time to time. 

Thankfully, while the guns and rockets go on roaring, our talented artists and purveyors of cultural riches continue to do business, and, as usual, there is plenty to get into across the country over the Sukkot holiday break. A word of caution: It’s advised to check with the venues before heading out.

Alice in Wonderland

The Israeli Opera House in Tel Aviv has long been at the forefront of catering for the junior culture consumer. The forthcoming holiday hiatus is no exception with a, no doubt, visually and sonically exhilarating production of Alice In Wonderland set for October 19 (10:30 a.m.).

The Hebrew-language rendition was crafted by composer, conductor, and singer David Sebba, who has a daytime job as music director of the Israeli Opera’s Meitar Opera Studio, and is being staged by internationally renowned theater producer Gadi Schechter. The characters from Lewis Carroll’s timelessly popular tale will be performed by Israeli Opera soloists festooned in thematically tailored costumes.

For tickets and more information: https://www.israel-opera.co.il.

Tzlilei Yaldut Festival

Holon, the country’s unofficial children’s capital, also has much to offer the junior crowd on Sukkot, particularly with the Tzlilei Yaldut [Children’s Sounds] Festival, which takes place at the Holon Theater on October 20-22.

This year’s edition of the perennial kids’ favorite caters for the three years and older lot with such beloved Hebrew-language staples as The Magical Ride on the Orient Express. There is plenty to feast the eyes and ears on, with the premiere of the Indie Kid rock and roll show, and Back to Granddad’s Neighborhood with the acclaimed Tremolo percussion troupe in tow. Other festival highlights include a production of the enduringly popular Come to Me Lovely Butterfly (Boh Elai Parpar Nechmad), and three class acts from Jerusalem-based puppet theater company Train Theater.

For tickets and more information: www.tzlilei-yaldut.co.il and (03) 502-3001.

Sukkot Minifestival

The latter outfit, over in the capital, is also well prepped to offer some quality entertainment for kids and adults alike with its Sukkot Minifestival at its base next to the Liberty Bell Garden and further afield. The three-day program, on October 20-22, features a host of staged works and free daily workshops (with advance registration) that feed off basic raw materials as well as venturing into hi-tech realms such as Augmented Reality.

The festival fun opens (October 20, 10:30 a.m.) with a reading of David Grossman’s Jonathan Is A Real Detective, followed by a multidisciplinary puppet, actor, video art, and animation creation called Louisa.

The veteran puppet theater company will also go on the road on Sukkot, with shows lined up for various venues in Rishon Lezion, Jaffa, Holon, Tel Aviv, and Modi’in. All shows are free for evacuees from the North and South, and the families of reserve soldiers currently on active duty.

For more information: https://www.traintheater.co.il/en.

Premiere 2024

There is plenty of wholesome entertainment, activities, and healthy, tasty vittles on offer in more rural climes, for all ages, over at Kibbutz Netiv Halamed-Heh in the nether part of the Eila Valley near Jerusalem on October 20-22, at the Vertigo Eco Art Village.

The three-day curtain-raiser, Premiere 2024, is an intriguing joint venture between a nine-strong dancer cast engaging in choreographed moves seasoned with improvisational vignettes. Internationally renowned percussionist Itamar Doari serves as music director with a trio of instrumentalists accompanying the onstage visuals.

The Inbal Dance Company is also in on the festival action with Quarter of A Moon, directed by Tamar Barlev. The show is described as “an evening of duets” and addresses the current national and personal angst, with an undercurrent of “hope in the embrace of change.”

Elsewhere on the dance festival roster is the acclaimed Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company (KCDC), which will present Who Am I (Mi Ani). The thought-provoking work examines the idea of our individual essence stripped of societal labels and external impositions.

Some of the festival slots are free of charge, including an al fresco premiere of Perla’s Van in A Gypsy Circus. The all-the-family show combines music, acrobatics, and clowning, complemented by a gypsy song soundtrack, and exudes “irrepressible optimism in lively interaction with the audience.” Sounds like just the ticket.

For more information: https://vertigo.org.il/en/village/dance-festival-24.

MUZA Movements

Back in the thick of the urban bustle, the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv (MUZA) is rolling out a rich program of activities for all the family, on October 20-22. This includes live music, guided tours, and all sorts of games in the museum orchard, looking at the seven biblical species of vegetation and challenging the participants to solve riddles connected to Israeli cultural heritage. Activities take place daily from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., and there will be a sukkah on the museum grounds.

Visitors can follow up the outdoor stuff with a peek at the museum’s wide range of ongoing exhibitions.

For more information: https://www.eretzmuseum.org.il.

Yaron Festival 

The Orna Porat Children’s Theater in Tel Aviv is always a fair bet for meaningful and entertaining fare for our smaller and teenage offspring. The 25th rendition of the Yaron Festival packs a whole host of substantial theatrical creations spread over five days (October 18-22).

The shows take place at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (TAMA), Eretz Israel Museum (MUZA), Beit Hahayal, and the Cameri Theatre. Patrons of TAMA festival events can also gain entry to the museum’s exhibitions, gratis, on the day in question.

The five-day bill includes performances of Lovely Butterfly (Parpar Nechmad), the first staged version of the iconic children’s animated TV show, Peter and the Wolf, Maale Karachot (Raising Bald Heads), and Ma Kara Be’eretz Mi (What Happened in Whose Land) by Leah Naor with music by Kobi Oshrat.

Free admission for evacuees from the North and South, and families of reserve soldiers currently on active duty.

For tickets and more information: https://www.porat-theater.co.il.

KKL-JNF Botanical happenings

With the intense summer heat somewhat on the wane, now is a good time to enjoy some fun and games in the – albeit not always entirely – fresh air. Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund generally comes up with the outdoor goods. The forthcoming KKL-JNF rollout features manifold activities around the country, for adults and families with kids in all age groups. There are physical activities such as olive picking out in rustic environs, as well as arts workshops and game stations dotted around the Botanical Gardens in Jerusalem.

Kids and seniors can get down and dirty with an interactive treasure hunt-themed game, enjoy 3D nature films and multimedia compounds, as well as AI glasses and music shows in Ben-Shemen Forest. Up in Lower Galilee, there are olive-picking events, art workshops, guided tours, and child-friendly activities in the Lavi Forest and Sade Center. Small-scale olive production is also on the agenda. Most activities are free with advance registration.

Elsewhere, there are world music shows, drumming circles, a photography competition, natural materials-based arts activities, exhibitions, and theatrical productions, with a KKL-JNF-themed slot in the ever-popular Storyteller Festival taking place at the Givatayim Theater on October 21.

For more information: https://salkkl.kkl.org.il/Tours/ToursSearch.aspx.

Sukkot schedule at Ein Hod

An all-the-family theater show, a gallery talk, arts workshops, and other activities and exhibitions are all on the Sukkot schedule of the Janco Dada Museum in the quaint Western Galilee artists’ village of Ein Hod. The Ruth Kanner Theatre Group will perform Haderech Leshama (The Way There) on October 19 (12:30 p.m.), based on a compilation of children’s stories by the likes of Haim Nahman Bialik, Dalia Ravikovitch, and Avraham Shlonsky. That will be followed by a gallery talk with artist Yossi Waxman. The program is suitable for children from four to seven years old. The October 20 agenda includes the “Mikrim Bechaluda” (Rusty Cases) creative workshop (12:30 p.m.), presented by artist Carmit Weizman, who will also talk about her exhibition Tedarim (Frequencies).

For more information: (04) 984-2350 and https://www.jancodada.co.il.

Ushpizin Poetry Festival

The forthcoming holiday is traditionally a time when we meander our way between friends’ and relatives’ sukkot and mark the biblical Ushpizin (guests). Confederation House in Jerusalem has its own artistic slant on the age-old custom with its annual Ushpizin Poetry Festival. This year’s event takes place on October 20-22 with a stellar roster of poets and musicians, including renowned violinist and oud player Yair Dalal, singer Mor Karbasi, instrumentalist-vocalist Eran Tzur, singer-songwriter Micha Biton, and saxophonist-vocalist Abate Berihun. The literary material features works by a cross-generational spread of writers, such as iconic Jerusalemite poet Zelda, marking the 110th anniversary of her birth, Haim Gouri, Jerusalem-born poet Gilad Meiri, and legendary Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca.

For tickets and more information: (02) 539-9360 and https://www.confederationhouse.org/en.