Festigal ( he, פסטיגל) is an annual Israeli song and dance musical show for children. Festigal is held every year at

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each nigh ...

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. Each year's event is built around a particular theme or story.

History

The first Festigal took place in the city of

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...

in 1981 and was the brainchild of impresario Miki Peled (later to be joined by his son, Yaron Peled). Since then, it has been held in venues nationwide. It is among the largest events during Hanukkah. For example, in 2006, about NIS 18 million NIS were allocated for the concerts."The Festigal audience never gets older"
'' Jerusalem Post,'' 31 December 2006

Theme songs

From 2002 until 2015, a theme song based on a popular tune was used, such as " Holding Out for a Hero" in 2005.

List of theme songs

* 2002: " The Ketchup Song" – שיר הקטשופ * 2003: "Around the World" (Israeli Song) – סביב כל העולם * 2004: "

Dragostea din tei "Dragostea Din Tei" (; official English title: "Words of Love", also informally known as "Maya Hi" and "Numa Numa") is a song by Moldovan pop group O-Zone, released as the second single from their third studio album, '' DiscO-Zone'' (2004). The ...

" – נומה נומה היי * 2005: " Holding Out for a Hero" – גיבור על העולם * 2006: " The Final Countdown" – פסטיגל פנטזיה * 2007: "

Major Tom (Coming Home) "Major Tom (Coming Home)" (german: Major Tom öllig losgelöst}, 'Major Tom ompletely detached) is a song by singer Peter Schilling from his album ''Error in the System''. With a character unofficially related to " Major Tom", the protagonist o ...

" – זמן זה כוח * 2008: " Can You Feel It" – תפוס ת'פסטיגל * 2009: " I'm So Excited" – תנו ברגליים * 2010: "

The Rhythm of the Night ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

" – לילה מטורף בפסטיגל * 2011: " Mr. Saxobeat" – פסטיגלi * 2012: "

Livin' la Vida Loca "Livin' la Vida Loca" () is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his fifth studio album and English-language debut, ''Ricky Martin'' (1999). The song was written by Draco Rosa and Desmond Child, while the production was handle ...

" – ספיי פסטיגל * 2013: "

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and dan ...

" – אקס פסטיגל * 2014: " When the Rain Begins to Fall" – זמן משחקי הפסטיגל * 2015: " Heroes"Israel: "Heroes" goes to high school as Festigal theme
/ref> – עכשיו זה היי סקול פסטיגל

Themes

From 1984, Festigal has had a different theme each year. For example, in 2010, the theme was the story of two kids lost in a museum at night with the exhibits coming to life and showing pieces of history (based on the movie ''

Night at the Museum ''Night at the Museum'' is a 2006 fantasy comedy film directed by Shawn Levy and written by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon. It is based on the 1993 children's book of the same name by Croatian illustrator Milan Trenc. The film had an e ...

''). In 2015, the show had a high school theme loosely based on the '' Fame'' franchise and the TV show ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

''.

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 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 – הרפתקה במצולות * 2009: Kung fu – קונג פו פסטיגל * 2010: History – לילה מטורף בפסטיגל * 2011: Cyberspace – איי פסטיגל * 2012: Spying – ספיי פסטיגל * 2013: The Four Elements – 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 * 2018: Dance – FreeStyle# פסטיגל * 2019: Cyberspace – פסטיגל Play * 2020: 40th Anniversary – פסטיגל My * 2021: Angels – פסטיגל Sky High

References