Gearing up for Tel Aviv’s 100th

March 4, 2009 - 10:28 AM by

A poster in competition for the Tel Aviv Centennial.

A poster in competition for the Tel Aviv Centennial.

Tel Aviv is one of those enigmatic cities. Alot of it is really ugly, but there’s something about it that makes it one of the most beautiful and alive cities in the world. Not to mention, it’s just one of the coolest places ever, where you can people watch for hours, see bike riders, skaters, punks, rastas, old-time Yekkies, bathing beauties, and just an amalgam of everything Israeli.

Arriving there from Jerusalem is always like entering a different country, that’s moving a noticeably more rapid pace. Yup, Tel Aviv has alot to be proud of, and starting next month, the city is launching its Centennial celebrations with six months of exhibits, shows, programs, and educational and cultural offerings.

Just a few highlights from a press briefing that Mayor Ron Huldai and Centennial director general Hila Oren gave this week

* A NIS 500,000 statue of Tel Aviv’s first mayor Meir Dizengoff, designed by artist David Zondolovitz will be unveiled in front of the mayor’s home on Rothschild Boulevard to coincide with a conference on April 23rd at the Cameri Theater on the descendants of the city’s founding fathers. (By the way, a recent survey of high school students showed that most thought famed Dizengoff Street was named after the Dizengoff Center shopping mall – so there’s something to be said for those educational programs they’re planning).

* The city has embarked on 15 major renovation projects to mark the Centennial, including the restoration of the Jaffa Port, the Manshia train station at the edge of Jaffa, the restoration of the Trumpeldor Street cemetery where many of the city’s founders are buried, and new wings for the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, the Museum of Art and Habimah Theater.

* A gala opening celebration at Kikar Rabin on April 4th

* The Tel Aviv Marathon on April 24th

* Little Tel Aviv’s White Nights nostalgia festival on May 27th

* The Tel Aviv Gay Pride Parade on June 12th

* The Blue-Mediterranean Festival in Jaffa on June 16th

* A gala performance of Verdi’s Requiem by La Scala at Ganei Yehoshua on July 16th

Huldai spoke about the actual 100th birthday of the city – marked as April 11, 1909 when several dozen families gathered on the sand dunes outside Jaffa to choose plots for land for a new neighborhood called Ahuzat Bayit, later renamed Tel Aviv. Since they couldn’t decide who would get which plot, they held a lottery by gathering 60 gray and 60 white seashells. Akiva Arieh Weiss, chairman of the lottery committee, wrote the names of the participants on the white shells and the plot numbers on the gray shells, and paired the names with the plots.

“Every day it’s a miracle. When I think about 100 years ago and those families standing on the sand dunes and picking up shells for the lottery, and then seeing this metropolis today, it’s just a miracle,” said Huldai.

So, if you’re planning a trip in the next few months, think about Tel Aviv and join in celebrating the miracle.

Tags: , , , , • Category: General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Pop Culture, Travel 

Comments

One Comment on Gearing up for Tel Aviv’s 100th

  1. Avi on Wed, Mar 4th 2009 11:58 AM

    2. Another highlight is the conclusion of the celebrations will include the opening of a new museum on the History of Tel Aviv-Yafo, going back “home” to its original location at the original Tel Aviv city hall on Rehov Bialik (an important building to me, personally). That’s the image that’s on the tlv100.co.il website.

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