Come by and visit the Israel Pavilion at Edmonton Heritage Day Festival; August 3 & 4

by Matthew Levine

(AJNews) – This year’s Heritage Day Festival in Edmonton brings three exciting and fun packed days with all of your favorites and some new additions. The festival runs from August 2nd through to the 4th with the hours of operation varying slightly day to day. Saturday will run from 12 to 9 pm, Sunday from 10 am to 9 pm, and the long weekend holiday Monday goes from 10 am to 8 pm.

The world’s largest three-day multiculturalism celebration will be located at The Exhibition Grounds and Borden Park. Parking and transit information is available on Heritagefest.ca so you can figure out the best way to get there. There are no food tickets this year, and vendors will accept debit and credit cards.

Stop by the festival this year to experience 70 different pavilions showcasing over 900 different performances and attractions. One of these cultural displays, the Israeli Pavilion, is an ever evolving and educational experience.

So what’s new? Israel’s pavilion is introducing new landscape banners that show the beauty and diversity of Israel’s topography alongside content boards that explain what people are looking at to give some context. A new attraction will feature The Elliott Steinberg band performing a mix of traditional and modern Israeli music, adding a new and exciting element.

Don’t worry, the new entertainment is not replacing the Aviv dancers, just adding some variance. Artistic director Abby Wright has put together an incredible group of young talented Aviv dancers that will showcase a blend of traditional and modern pieces. They will be performing starting at 10:30 am and dancing every hour until 5:30 pm on both Sunday and Monday.

A fan favorite activity is back! The archaeological dig showcases innovations such as drip irrigation and a number of Israeli inventions that people use every day. The marketplace is back as well thanks to Jody Wasserman who has designed new shirts and Roben Nurgitz who is coordinating new merchandise that will be available for sale over the 2 days. Sophia Ilkanaev, the new caterer for the event, has put together an incredible menu building on the success of previous years and also adding some new and exciting menu items. Extra thank you’s go out to Poster Tech (Victor and Lena Linetsky), the Edmonton Jewish Charitable foundation for sponsoring volunteer T-shirts, and David Aaron and Rebecca Asbell for being volunteer coordinators.

“Heritage Days us an incredibly important event,” said  Israel Pavilion co-ordinator Jay Cairns.  “It is an opportunity for us as a community to come together and put our best foot forward, as a people, as a nation. It is a chance to reconnect with old friends and meet new people in and out of our community.”

The Jewish Federation of Edmonton is proud to be hosting the Israel Pavilion again this year, says CEO Stacey Leavitt-Wright. “We appreciate all the volunteers who ensure a welcoming event. The Israel Pavilion will be a vibrant celebration of culture, resilience, and pride. Thousands of visitors will experience the richness of Israeli innovation, music, and cuisine.”

Matthew Levine is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter