By COMPILEDJULIE STEIGERWALDKicking off 2015's ‘Sovev Turki Elite’ bike ride in Tel Aviv(photo credit: SOVEV TEL AVIV/FACEBOOK)CENTERThe biggest cycling event in Tel Aviv is returning for the eighth year during Succot on October 21.As part of the “Sovev Turki Elite” event organized by the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality, cyclists and rollerbladers will be able to enjoy riding and skating on lanes throughout the city’s cordoned-off main thoroughfares, including the Ayalon Highway and seafront.Hundreds of families, cycling enthusiasts and skilled riders are expected to attend the popular annual crosstown cycling event as roads are blocked to motor traffic. The event’s four routes range in length from eight kilometers to 41 kilometers.The kickoff (at 6:30 a.m.) and the finish line will both be located at Rokach Boulevard across from the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds.To register for the event, visit www.sovevtlv.org.ilRabin Square to host Succot marketAs the country prepares for Succot, Rabin Square in central Tel Aviv will host the annual Four Species Fair October 13 to 16.The event takes place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 p.m.to 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, and will feature musical performances and a festive shopping air.
As the scent of etrogim fills the air, booths and merchandise stands will sell festive succa decorations and the traditional Four Species – etrog, lulav, myrtle and willow – that will be used to celebrate the holiday.NORTH Galilee village brimming with Succot festivitiesThe scenic Lower Galilee village of Kfar Tavor will throw a large culture and arts street festival to coincide with Succot.The “Mishag” festival, taking place on October 18 and 19, will feature dozens of artists and games, along with music, theater and circus performances.The event will also include various food stalls, offering the village’s hallmark – marzipan – along with nuts, cheeses, wines, olives oils, Circassian cuisine and more.Other activities at the festival include a succa meeting on promoting neighborly relations, held in participation with Yossi Katz, 2016 Israel Prize laureate, Bar-Ilan University professor of historical geography. Alongside the revelry, the village’s museum will be open to the public, with exhibitions dating back to the founding of the community on the foot of Mount Tabor in 1901.Rosh Pina celebrates Romanian Jewish Museum After years of planning, the start of the construction of the Romanian Jewish Museum in Rosh Pina took place on September 2.The Tourism Ministry and the United Organization of Romanian Jews in Israel held a cornerstone-laying ceremony to mark the launch of the museum’s building. The ceremony was held in the presence of various dignitaries, including tourism director-general Amir Halevi, Romanian Ambassador Andreea Pastârnac, Romanian parliamentarian and president of the Union of Jews Born in Romania (AMIR) Aurel Vainer, AMIR chairman Micha Harish and Rosh Pina local council head Avihud Rasky.The location for the museum in Rosh Pina was chosen due to the Upper Galilee town’s symbolism as one of the Jewish settlements that was, in its early years, inhabited predominantly by Romanian immigrants.SOUTH Ashdod musems offer Succot specialsThe museums in Ashdod will provide special events and exhibitions for families and children during the intermediate days of Succot, October 15 to 20.Among the events that will take place are a multidisciplinary “Story of Creation” activity on October 15 for preschoolers that combines the worlds of literature and visual art at the Ashdod Museum of Art. Children aged 5 to 7 are welcome to take part in the event for a fee of NIS 20.The museum will host the “Artistic Motion Experience” tour, in which children can take part in an exploratory search inspired by works in mixed media.The tour will be available October 18 to 20 for a fee of NIS 25.The museum will also offer a dance presentation and workshop titled “Tumbler” on October 20 for NIS 60. Children aged four to six, along with their families, are invited to the interactive dance, art, video, animation and music experience choreographed by Avigail Ilan.Meanwhile, the city’s Corinne Maman Museum of Philistine Culture will provide a theatrical tour of the exhibition “The World of the Philistines,” where children can explore the museum’s archeological exhibits against the backdrop of a tale of the ancient Middle Eastern culture.The tour is open to children aged five and up at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on October 18.