Art and Music Brighten Jerusalem Winter

Weather.

What a wild week of weather!

It was so warm and sunny one day,

that after lunch at the Malha Tech Park,

people lounged at cafe tables in the mid-day sun,

reluctant to return to their offices.

Then,

came the rain,

along the light rail line on Jaffa Road,

at least this umbrella brightened the morning.

Yesterday, hail pounded down, along with high winds.

The challenge became to aim an umbrella so the wind

would not blow it away or inside out.

However, there is plenty

of music to brighten cold winter nights.

While restaurants come and go,

a new Art and Music Gallery opened on Yoel Salomon Street.

The Jerusalem Jazz Festival and the annual

 Hullegeb Festival of Ethiopian music, and more events are this week.

Plus it’s another December weekend of Hamshushalim,

with dozens of entertainment and cultural options

at discounted prices, and many for free.

When it comes to discount options or free,

nothing tops the Yad Sarah organization.

“What’s  the catch? What’s the cost?” everyone asks.

 I took a tour this week.

The main equipment supply room

brims with medical assistance items,

the emergency hot line operates 24/7,

while the art therapy room has everything,

 from this vintage sewing machine

to cabinets full of handmade pieces of art.

Thousands volunteer and are serviced by Yad Sarah,

its list of services and items is massive.

If their supply of hospital beds were piled up

it would be higher than Mount Everest!.

Tours are free, and recommended for all.

What’s the catch?

Yad Sarah has everything but adequate parking.

To end on an upbeat art note:

Besides the growing Bezalel Academy of Art and Design,

a new art center is to be built in downtown Jerusalem.

The $50 million complex is to be called

the Jerusalem Campus for the Arts.

I missed the rainbow yesterday morning,

but there is much happening to brighten

these Jerusalem streets.