Scenes from Klezmer

So we are fortunate enough to be in Tsfat during the huge Klezmer Festival
or just "Klezmer" as everyone calls it. Unfortunately the festivities start at 8pm and we haven't found any babysitters so we've missed a lot of the craziness that gets kicking up later into the evening. Tonight Elliott bravely managed to keep the kids out late and I met them in time for the 10pm fireworks. Then we enjoyed a little 3 piece that had set up on a small plaza/balcony thing. They actually played something like Irish music. Totally different from all the wailing clarinets everywhere. I should have talked to them but it was really nice to just sit with limp children and listen.


This first photo is of a guy who did magic and music for kids. It was earlier in the evening but did not captivate Akiva and Sam much.




They did like checking out the Na Nach Nachman kid though.



My favorite part of Klezmer is just checking out all the crazy stands of stuff for sale. There are the predictable hot dog, cotton candy and popcorn stands; but also beer (including an Israeli microbrew,) and I don't mean a big licensed beer tent, I mean folks who hoofed it down to the supermarket and bought some Goldstars and put them in a cooler. Scarves, tie dye. Plenty of kabbalah doodads and religious gear. Big Moroccan pancakes made on a pillow. Some kind of ironing board cover that is supposed to make ironing safe (saw lots of people buying this.) Some enterprising young men were able to stretch many extension cords to get power to a "hurva" ruin at the edge of the old city. There I watched them setting up pillows and hookahs. Looked pretty swank.
I just dig the free-for-all nature of it. We were going to set up a lemonade stand and donate the proceeds to something good. But alas, tonight was the last night of Klezmer and we never got our startup launched. Maybe next year.