June 2009: Festival BeShekel Newsletter
Festival BeShekel’s Summer  Events     Festival invitation attached!  Summer is approaching and preparations for Festival BeShekel are gaining momentum across Israel. This year, we`ll be hosting 3 festivals in Gilboa Regional Council, Lod, and in the Katamonim neighborhood of Jerusalem. The summer festivals will take place after intensive work with youth and young artists from each community. During the summer events, tens of thousands are expected to participate and enjoy the best of well-known artists alongside local musicians, artists and creators. The festival is a giant happening of the whole community that includes first-class and local creative performances, street theatre, fun booths and stands and children`s activities. Come take part in upcoming nearby festivals and share in the celebration of culture and creativity, in all its many forms. Festival BeShekel believes that culture is a right, and so the entrance fee is only one shekel! All events are produced in cooperation with the youth group "Cultural Leadership," who will continue to lead the culture in the city after Festival BeShekel leaves.  Annual local activities: ·      Cultural Leadership Workshops ·      Art workshops ·      Hometown Battle of the Bands ·      Festival BeShekel   What’s happening locally?   GILBOA, June 30th      On June 30th, Festival BeShekel is kicking off the summer with an impressive, large cultural event at the Harod Spring National Park, produced by the local Cultural Leaders group. The Cultural Leaders track in Gilboa is made up of 30 youths, Jewish and Arab, from kibbutzim, moshavim, and villages in the regional council of Gilboa. The group produced the Hometown Band Competition, where 10 young, local bands from the area performed in front of 400 enthusiastic audience members. The audience, the organization`s staff, and the judges (Gilad Vital, Joseph Atrash, and Carmi Wurtman) experienced the unique cultural richness that can be found in the Gilboa area in its full variety:  traditional Arabic music, rap, reggae and rock, in both Hebrew and Arabic. The band "Avushei Moshav," "Sound Riders," and the singer Shiraz accompanied by oud-player Ahmed and "JahGlers", along with a unique dance group, were chosen to perform in the summer Festival BeShekel, alongside well-known musicians. All of the groups received professional mentoring from our organization, by way of Artistic Enrichment workshops, given by Gilad Vital (Peshutey Ha`Am and Shoteh ha`Nevuah in the past). The Gilboa project has been "adopted" by the youth group "Mifgashim-Givat Havivah."     JERUSALEM, July 6th  Festival BeShekel is returning to Jerusalem! On July 6th, Festival BeShekel will take place—all music and all fun, put on by the local Cultural Leaders group. It will be held in the Katamonim neighborhood, at Elmaliach Park. Everyone`s invited!   The local Cultural Leaders group from Katamonim has been working extensively on the festival production. This group is made up of youth from the neighborhoods of Katamonim and Gonen, representing the different areas of the two neighborhoods. The youth, with assistance from our organization, will produce, run, design, publicize,  and expose the local forces at work in their neighborhoods and will turn the summer Festival in the Katamonim into the "place to be" for all of Jerusalem. The local bands that were chosen during Audition night are: MotorKids, Vanka-Satnah and Rotem Chunah and Fifa. These chosen groups receive guidance from musician Michael Greilsammer.   The project is supported by the Schusterman Foundation and the Jerusalem Foundation, which advance culture and creative production through community and social engagement.   LOD , July 8th   On July 8th, Festival BeShekel is opening the summer in Lod at the Lod Municipal Park. The "Cultural Leaders" has planned an event that will bring the whole country!   The Lod Cultural Leaders group is made up of Jewish and Arab youth that come from a variety of Lod`s neighborhoods. On June 3rd, Audition night was held. 11 groups from Lod performed original pieces, in Hebrew and Arabic, of all styles. The judges, Gadi Altman (Boten Matok Bakirkas) and rapper Tamer Nafer, of D.A.M, chose 4 groups to perform: the rapper Adam, La Cosa Nostra, FYL, and Yonatan Yifrach. These 4 groups receive professional guidance and will then perform on the main stage of the summer Festival BeShekel, alongside some of Israel`s best performers. The local Cultural Leaders group focuses on the fields of production, marketing and advertising, communications, public relations, stage design, and fundraising. They run all of the local production in their city.   See you at Festival BeShekel 2009 – Lod, Jerusalem, and Gilboa. Culture for the people!	Want to "round up" for Festival BeShekel? Festival BeShekel is one of 34 organizations that have been chosen to take part in the initiative "Round Up for Good" and LeumiCard. Card holders can round up their transactions to the nearest shekel and donate to Festival BeShekel. Festival BeShekel was reviewed and approved by the public committee of the Round Up, led by former Supreme Court Justice Meir Shamgar. Additional details can be found here.  Do you want to support our work? For Donations and support of all kinds, please contact Noa Gilo, 0543297891 noa@beshekel.org.il Festival BeShekel acknowledges all of the organizations and groups that have contributed to the advancement of culture in the periphery, and to those who support artistic discourse between Jews and Arabs.  First of all, with deep appreciation to the representatives of the European Union, and: ·        Authority for  Development in the Negev and Galilee ·        Omanot l’Am ·        Mifgashim: Givat Haviva ·        Beracha Foundation ·        The Schusterman Foundation ·        Partnerships 2000 ·        The Jerusalem Foundation ·        Ministry of Culture ·        Alan B. Slifka Foundation And of course to the Gilboa Regional Council, the Municipality of Lod, and the Municipality of Jerusalem.  Contact Us Festival BeShekel (NGO #58-039-056-5) 28355PO Box   Jerusalem 91283 Phone: 02-6257862 Fax:   972-153-2-6257862 E-mail: Executive Director: Einat Gomel Project Manager: Nir Pereg Resource Director: Noa Gilo Producer: Carmi Wurtman Website: www.beshekel.org.il