Festigal

Festigal (Hebrew: פסטיגל) is an annual Israeli song and dance show for children. The Festigal is held every year at Hanukkah time, during the school vacation. It began as a song contest but the format gradually changed to include performances by well-known Israeli singers and actors.^[1] Now the Festigal event is built around some theme or story.

History

The first Festigal took place in Haifa in 1981 and was the brainchild of notable Impresario Miki Peled (later to be joined by his son Yaron Peled). Since then it has been held in many places around the country. It is among the largest events during Hanukkah. For example, in 2006 about 18 million NIS were allocated for the concerts.^[1]^[2]

Theme songs

From 2002 until 2015 there has been a theme song based on a popular tune, such as "Holding Out for a Hero" in 2005.^[3]

List of theme songs

2002: The Ketchup Song - שיר הקטשופ
2003: Around the World (Israeli Song) - סביב כל העולם
2004: Dragostea din tei - נומה נומה היי
2005: Holding Out for a Hero - גיבור על העולם
2006: The Final Countdown - פסטיגל פנטזיה
2007: Major Tom (Coming Home) - זמן זה כוח
2008: Can You Feel It - תפוס ת'פסטיגל
2009: I'm So Excited - תנו ברגליים
2010: The Rhythm of the Night - לילה מטורף בפסטיגל
2011: Mr. Saxobeat - איי פסטיגל
2012: Livin' la Vida Loca - ספיי פסטיגל
2013: Euphoria - אקס פסטיגל
2014: When the Rain Begins to Fall - זמן משחקי הפסטיגל
2015: Heroes ^[4] - עכשיו זה היי סקול פסטיגל

Themes

From 1984, the Festigal has had a different theme/framing device every year. For example, in 2010, the theme was the story of two kids lost in the museum at night among the exposition coming to life and showing pieces of history (based on the movie Night at the Museum). In 2015, the show had a high school theme loosely based on the Fame franchise and the TV show Glee.

List of themes

1984: Channel 1
1985: Robots
1986: Radio broadcasting
1987: Saving the Garden from Demolition
1988: "The Light Kingdom"
1989: Family
1990: Fight of the Festigal
1991: Hanny'le and the Saturday dress
1992: To Be a Star
1993: Father and Daughter at the Festigal
1994: Television
1995: Animals
1996: Circus - מורידים את הכוכבים מהשמיים
1997: Amusement park - כי העולם שייך לילדים
1998: Dreams - הבחירה של הילדים
1999: Millennium - הפסטיגל של המילניום הבא
2000: Toys - צעצוע של פסטיגל
2001: Telenovela - פלאנובלה של פסטיגל
2002: Cinematography - פסטיגל מהסרטים
2003: World Tour - פסטיגל סובב עולם
2004: Fairy tales - לא יאומן כי פסטיגל
2005: Superheroes - פסטיגל גיבורי על
2006: Fantasy - פסטיגל גיבורי הממלכה האבודה
2007: Time travel - פסטיגל על הזמן
2008: Underwater - תפוס ת'פסטיגל
2009: Kung fu - קונג פו פסטיגל
2010: History - לילה מטורף בפסטיגל
2011: Cyberspace - איי פסטיגל
2012: Spying - ספיי פסטיגל
2013: Classical element - אקס פסטיגל
2014: The Hunger Games - משחקי הפסטיגל
2015 and 2016: High school - היי סקול פסטיגל / היי סקול פסטיגל 2: הגמר הגדול
2017: Urban legend - סטורי של פסטיגל

Participants

The following singers have appeared at the festigal: Ezra Dagan (1981), Nurit Galron (1981), Yardena Arazi (1982), Izhar Cohen (1983), Uzi Hitman (1983), |Ilana Avital (1984), Izhar Cohen (1984), Rivka Zohar (1985, 1986, 1988), Ilana Avital (1985, 2001), Gidi Gov (1986, 1988, 1991, 1992), Amal Murkus (1986), Ofra Haza (1987), Margalit Tzan'ani (1989, 2006), Uri Fineman (1991), Hanny Nahmias (1992, 1993, 1997, 1999), Michal Yannai (1993, 1995, 1998, 2000), Ethnix (1994, 2012), Oded Menashe (1994), Riki Gal (1994), Dafna Dekel (1995, 1999), Yael Bar Zohar (1996, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2012), Sarit Hadad (1998, 1999), Tal Mosseri (1997, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014), Eyal Golan (2000, 2009), Teapacks (1995, 2001), Yehuda Levi (2002, 2003, 2011), Lior Narkis (2002), Ofer Shechter (2003), Harel Moyal (2004), Harel Skaat (2004, 2005, 2007), Agam Rodberg (2004, 2009), Ran Danker (2004, 2005, 2006), Oshri Cohen (2005), Shiri Maimon (2008, 2012), Adi Himmelbleu (2006, 2007, 2009, 2013), Yon Tumarkin (2009, 2010), Roni Dalumi (2010, 2014), Roni Duani (2004, 2005, 2008, 2010) and Amit Farkash (2009, 2011), Eliana Tidhar (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), Daniel Moreshet (2013, 2014), Sagi Braitner (2017).

Hosts

The following celebrities have hosted the festigal: Tzipi Shavit (1982, 1989), Yoav Kutner (1983), Moni Moshonov (1984, 1987, 1988, 1990), Avi Kushnir (1985 + 1987), Gidi Gov (1986, 1987, 1991), Avri Gilad (1986), Sefi Rivlin (1989, 1993), Hana Laszlo (1989), Hanny Nahmias (1991-1993, 1997, 1999), Yael Abecassis (1994), Oded Menashe (1994), Michal Yannai (1995, 2000), Lior Miller (1996), Zachi Noy (1997), Tuvia Tzafir (1998, 2004), Shai Haddad (1998), Zvika Hadar (2000, 2001, 2010), Mariano Idelman (2002, 2013), Ofer Shechter (2003), Ran Danker (2004), Yael Bar Zohar (2005, 2009, 2012), Oshri Cohen (2005), Liraz Charhi (2007), HaPijamot (2007), Guy Zu-Aretz (2008), Gal Gadot (2008), Eli Yatzpan (2009), Maya Shoef (2010), Eli Finish (2012), Yuval Semo (2013), Yardena Arazi (2014).

Festivals

2004

The 2004 Festigal of Israel was an annual special festival show centered on younger audience as a part of the annual Hanukkah song festival. Most of the featured cast were contestants of Kokhav Nolad, an Israeli reality television show.

Venue

References

[jp-1] "The Festigal audience never gets older", Jerusalem Post, December 31, 2006

[2] Festigal home page

[3] PITCHFORD's and STEINMAN's classic Famous title Holding Out for a Hero has been chosen to lead the annual Festigal song contest

[4] Israel: "Heroes" goes to high school as Festigal theme

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