A clear sign that things are returning to normal in Israel, was the sheer turn-out of people at this years' International Arts and Crafts Fair in Jerusalem. This year saw the return of the fair to the Sultan's Pool concert grounds, which can accommodate at least double the amount of people as the previous venue downtown, and yet - there was still barely enough room to move around.
Although I enjoyed myself I was a bit surprised at how expensive everything was. At 20 shekels for parking, 40 shekels per person for entrance, minimum 20 shekel for a basic meal (hotdog) and all this before you have bought any of the wonderful art pieces on offer. Fortunately, I had a friend give me a free ticket and she paid for parking, I ate my dinner before I went and I didn't buy anything at the fair (although I did take a few cards from stalls with intention to buy things later). So all in all - it's no wonder I enjoyed myself.
Some cool stalls of note had absolutely nothing to do with art. Bezeq had a giant tetris game, where you had to stamp on the controls to turn the tetris shapes, very cool! Lotto were giving away free scratchy cards (well free except the cost of sending an SMS message), but I didn't win the 50,000 shekels my card promised me - boy could I use that money!
Anyway - I have been going to Chutzot Hayotzeh for the last 9 years - never missed a year. I am looking forward to next year too.
