Shaon Horef (Winter Noise) is a
cultural festival that takes place in Jerusalem every Monday evening during the
Month of February. The festival hosts musical, food and arts activities, many
of them outdoors, in the streets, restaurants and coffee shops. Overall, it
there are 300 different activities, about 60 each Monday, in different parts of
town.
We
went to Jerusalem on a cold winter night to taste the enjoy the events in one
of the Mondays. While the festival was organized for the younger crowd, it is
great at every age. It is the 5th year
it takes place in Jerusalem.
We
started our evening at “Shushan” area, where Shaon Horef number 1 took place.
We went to Yanai Street, where a street food party took place with culinary
walk. Along the streets many food stands were placed: soup, hot dogs, sweet
pizzas, beers, etc. The walk was accompanied by a street concert of a string
orchestra. With the sounds of ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon, the crowd played Tetris
on a 5 stories building!
Among
the restaurants and gastronomic options in Yanai street, we visited: Shraga,
Reni’s deli, Etz Café, Coffee 7, and Biratenu.
Shraga
coffee was once a coffee shop at Baka neighborhood. The coffee shop at Yanai
was named after it, preserving the nostalgic atmosphere of that old café. The
restaurant serves a variety of dishes, with many vegetarian and vegan plates,
and soups. I tried their potato Piroshky (a Russian traditional stuffed pie),
delicious.
Nearby,
Reni’s deli opened a beer and hot-dogs stand for Shaon Horef festival. The deli
that is open 7 days a week, is not kosher. You will find there a large
collection of deli foods and cooking supplies.
Etz
Café is a coffee shop that is operated by a Brazilian association of
volunteers. The rule is that only customers who can pay – pay for their meals
there, and all the profits are transferred to charity. During Shaon Horef, they
serve here chocolate pizzas, kind of small tortillas packed with goodies –
chocolate, strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream.
Café
7 is a small family coffee shop. There are books and music here and everyone’s
welcome to sit for as long as they wish and enjoy the friendly atmosphere. The
food is home made, and so is the service!
Biratenu
(our beer, and also in Hebrew our capital city) is a Jerusalem center of beers.
You will find a large selection of Israeli beers, as well as their local beer.
This is the dream spot for beer lovers who want to taste the local flavors of
beer!
At Yanai Street
garage, an arts and crafts fair was opened. The fair includes a seating area
with local ‘talk show’ including interviews and actuality.
From here we
continued to Koresh Street, nearby, where a jazz concert of Divano Swing band
took place. It is one of many concerts and shows here, at the end of Shushan
street, a concert and shows tent was built, with seating areas. Here are a few
photographs of the different settings and shows, as well as the strings
orchestra.
The
streets were packed with people enjoying the festival and the art exhibits on
the buildings, on the way, and in the shop windows. There’s fantastic graffiti
on the way, and interactive art exhibits everywhere.
Our
last stop in the evening was Gatsby bar. This bar is hiding in a passage near
Aroma Café but if you like bars, don’t miss this one! When you enter it, you’ll
find yourself in a small ‘library’. It feels like going back in time, the place
is magical. A secret door in the library is the way into the bar itself. The
place is warmly decorated. The menu looks like an old book and it exposes a
large variety of cocktails. The alcohol selection in this bar is fantastic! We
tried one of the sweet cocktails, that was served in a unique cup (right bottom
of the photo collage below). During the festival they will arrange be cocktail
making workshops and demonstration.
If
you will be in Jerusalem or Israel around this time of the year, take advantage
of this lovely event, especially when the weather is warming up surprisingly!
For
the full schedule: Shaon Horef – winter festival
program.
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