by Nick Kolyohin
JERUSALEM, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv has launched a program of thousands of culture and art events during wintertime to encourage its residents to go out and enjoy during the COVID-19 crisis.
The coming winter season will be full of hundreds of shows every week, such as music and dance concerts, theater performances, art exhibitions, and more initiatives mostly free of charge and in compliance with the health ministry's guidelines.
Some of the highlights will be solo plays in parks, singers and storytellers perform at boulevards and squares, displays on rooftops and gardens.
Additional events will include, digital art lectures and workshops, art festivals in the public sphere and online, poetry festival on bus stops, cultural activities for seniors and disabled residents.
Under the building of Tel Aviv municipality there is one of the main venues, a glassed lobby of cultural center Enav that has become a safe "aquarium" that protects artists from the audience.
While inside the transparent lobby just up to ten performers are permitted to act, outside hundreds of watchers can spread in the open-air with maintaining safety distance between one another.
Ilana Michelle Poor, a Tel Aviv resident that attended one of the events, told Xinhua that it is a great idea to have outside events, especially in Israel where even in winter the weather is good.
Another excited participant of the events was Tomer Cohen, the general manager of Einav Cultural Center. "Over and over again, I am in tears when I see the audience coming to watch, and the artists are in tears in almost every event," he said.
One of the unique and free of charge attractions in the city has been PHOTO IS:RAEL, the 8th Annual International Photography Festival, which atracted hundreds of visitors in the open-air.
Photographers from around the world displayed their series of photos with the same concept of "change and transformation" at Kikar HaMedina, the largest plaza in Tel Aviv.
In addition to arranging street festivals, Tel Aviv municipality has spread hundreds of chairs and benches in public spaces across the city to support outdoor activities and meetings. Enditem
