Olé! Jerusalemite flamenco dancer Yarden Amir is the recipient of this year's ADI Foundation prize in the arts, for her “great achievements in dancing technique, stage artistic presence and her remarkable capacity to learn the rules of flamenco.” Amir will receive NIS 12,500 and a free Spanish course at the Cervantes Institute in Spain. She performed last weekend at a gala evening closing the three days of the Dias de Flamenco Festival, which took place at Tel Aviv's Suzanne Dellal Center and featured flamenco performers from Israel and Spain. Former president Yitzhak Navon and Spanish dignitaries attended the event. Hit the road, Ein Kerem Residents of the picturesque neighborhood of Ein Kerem now have access to a new road to and from the city. As of this week, the Karmit Road has reopened to traffic following extensive construction work. The road, which connects Ein Kerem to Kiryat Hayovel, and from there to the rest of the city, also enables visitors and tourists to reach Ein Kerem's artists' colony and other sites directly. The renovation of the road was part of the Nof Ein Kerem construction project in the neighborhood. Bezalel is back Here is some good news for aficionados of the Bezalel Arts and Crafts Fair: The fair will return to its original location along downtown's Shatz Street, following an arrangement between the organizers and the municipality. The organizers have pledged to take care of the area after the fair closes each week – to clean the street and do their best to reduce any inconvenience to the residents of Shatz Street. The residents had complained about the noise and the mess that accompanied the fair, leading to its closure for about a month. Deputy Mayor Ofer Berkovitch (Hitorerut) took it upon himself to find a solution, and the fair is resuming next week under the new conditions. For the moment, there is no news about another fair that the municipality has shut down due to bureaucratic issues – the Retroshalayim fair, which had been taking place every Thursday on the segment of Agrippas Street that connects to King George Avenue. Stay tuned for more. Going for a kubbeh Always wanted to learn how to prepare those delicious kubbeh served in Kurdish cuisine? Beita Jerusalem – the new arts and entertainment center located in the recently renovated historical Saidoff Building – is offering a workshop revealing all the secrets of this popular food. Rimon Ajami – artist, cook, entrepreneur and feminist activist – is teaching the workshop today from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., covering how to achieve the perfect kubbeh. Beita Jerusalem, located at Jaffa Road 155, offers a wide range of activities linked to the city and its history and life. The Friday workshop costs NIS 140; more details are available at beitajerusalem@gmail.com. Bon appetit! Male feminist Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz, No. 3 on the city council's Yerushalmim list, will be heading an official forum for the improvement of women's status. Leibowitz, who is entering the council following Yerushalmim leader Rachel Azaria's departure for the Knesset with the Kulanu list, will also replace her at the head of the municipal committee on women's status. Though some may find it strange that a man would be leading such a committee, it is not surprising if one hears Leibowitz's positions on women's rights. The rabbi, who is the founder of an alternative Jerusalem kashrut label that bypasses the Chief Rabbinate's system, is a fervent feminist, and he intends to give a further boost to the committee's activities. He is also the president of the Lev Ha'ir neighborhood council and community center, and as such, he has promoted dialogue and understanding among the various communities of this neighborhood. Tamir Nir, until recently No. 2 on the Yerushalmim list, is replacing Azaria as deputy mayor. Soccer and sun Teddy Stadium is becoming the first Israeli stadium to have a system of solar panels on its roof, enabling significant savings of NIS 400,000 a year in energy and a reduction in the city's pollution levels. The move will bring the stadium in line with some of the most famous stadiums in the world, which have already moved to solar power. The system in Teddy, which will be installed on the roofs above the stands, will produce green energy to provide lighting and other necessities for the stadium, as well as for other sports venues belonging to the city. Altogether, Teddy will have a 639-kilowatt installation and will produce up to one million kW per hour – all clean and pollutionfree. A joint project of the municipality and its subsidiary company Moriah, the solar installation will be complete and ready for use by next fall. Cleaning festival As it does every year at this time, the municipality will launch a large cleaning operation across the city, in neighborhoods, playgrounds, public spaces, and of course, the Mahaneh Yehuda market. The annual cleaning will start this Sunday and is expected to finish before the Passover Seder next Friday. Residents who wish to join the movement by cleaning up the areas around their houses or getting rid of old furniture and other items, can get large plastic bags from the cleaning teams, which they can fill up and place in bins. Those who have particularly large items to get rid of are asked not to take them out after Monday, March 30. Even the public signboards will get special treatment before Passover, with crews removing the posters and other announcements on them. As for the hametz, which, as tradition dictates, will be burned on Friday morning, the municipality has issued a reminder to residents not to burn anything outside the specific locations prepared for that purpose. One can find out the exact addresses at the community centers in each neighborhood. English Literacy Read-a-thon in its 10th year A.H.A.V.A, a nonprofit dedicated to improving English literacy in Israeli schools, recently held its 10th annual read-a-thon culminating with a community celebration in Ma'aleh Adumim. Founded in 2000 by English teacher Gaila Cohen Morrison, A.H.A.V.A has organized its read-a-thon event since 2006. In 10 years the read-a-thon has seen over a million pages in over 21,000 books read by participating children with over NIS 115,000 raised for the organization's scholarship fund to subsidize the cost of extra English tuition. This year's event saw 2,284 books read, including almost 100,000 pages by 164 participating children in Ma'aleh Adumim and surrounding communities. Five adults also took part in this year's event sponsored by Bezeq, Bank Hapoalim and other local businesses. In 2010, less than half of all eligible 12th graders even attempted the English matriculation exam to receive a high school diploma, with less than half of all high school students in Israel pursuing college degrees. Cohen Morrison said: “The time children put into events such as the Read-a-thon can help children jump as much as an entire reading level. Unlocking a world of wider reading for children at this age opens up important opportunities for them later on in life.”
(photo credit: COURTESY JERUSALEM MUNICIPALITY)