61st Israel Independence Festival
Date: May 3, 2009
Location: Woodley Park in Van Nuys, California
Distance from Home: 1.5 miles
Festival Fee: $5
Parking: Free – valet parking was also available, though I don’t recall the cost. Also convenient to the Metro Orange Line bus service. In retrospect, having seen the traffic situation caused by closing off the street on one end and creating parking on both sides of each side of the street, I would have considered alternate transportation or parking further away on a residential street.
Despite the proximity to Cinco de Mayo and the vast number of festivals honoring that day, this particular warm and sunny day brought us to the Israel 61st Anniversary Festival in Woodley Park, just a hop, skip, and jump away from home. Despite having lived in the area for many years I had never actually been to this park so it was an opportunity to see a bit more of the neighborhood as well as taking in a festival. The entire park had been fenced off and, as seems to be the case with pretty much any event involving Israel, there was a definite security presence. While I assume that they were there to keep us safe I’m not sure if that made me more or less at ease about being there. It was, however, a necessary part of the day so we made our way through the metal detectors and bag check before queuing in a fairly disorganized ticket line, one of a multitude of lines that we would end up in that day.
I Guess the Festival Was Jewlicious…
Immediately inside we were greeted with what was perhaps the highlight of the festival. On stage a show choir launched into an excellent rendition of “I’m So Excited” by the Pointer Sisters…in Hebrew. Would that the rest of the day were as delightful as this little gem. Whenever we were in earshot of the stage I listened to see if I could recognize other popular ‘80s hits, but sadly that was the only song that I could name. Turning to the exhibit tents, arranged in four different “streets” named after prominent Israelis, we picked a thoroughfare and got down to business. What became apparent fairly quickly was that this festival was geared a lot more toward a celebration of Israel for the Jewish people than one to promote Israel and its culture to the gentile. Not one who is looking to join a Jewish organization and being unable to take a birthright trip I found that ultimately there was not a lot there for me, leaving me feeling very much like an outsider looking in. I didn’t necessarily feel unwelcome, I just felt overlooked. At one point some girls approached Courtney to tell her about a program that would allow her to study in Israel for a year for free. After briefly discussing the program with her they begrudgingly gave me a card as well, though I’m pretty sure that they never really looked at me much less said anything to me. It seems that it’s fairly obvious that I am neither Israeli nor Jewish.
The Streets of the Festival…
An Obviously Israeli Dog…
Beyond the streets of tents was a collection of carnival rides and games, none of which looked so enticing as to overrule my general distrust of a ride that wasn’t there the day before and won’t be there the day after. According to the festival flier there was also a petting zoo around somewhere, but we never stumbled across it.
Dare You Enter the Belly of the Beast?…
Sampling the Food
We were both fairly excited about the food possibilities, both of us enjoying Israeli cuisine. There were a variety of booths offering similar choices, mostly coming down to falafel and shawarma. Having had some spectacular shawarma in my day I chose to go that route and got in my second line of the day, this one being for a truck from The Place Mobile Grill that proclaimed itself to have the best shawarma in LA. After further general disorganization (people having to ask for things several times, seemingly random offerings of pre-made shawarma pitas to people in line…none of whom were me, though plenty of people behind me) I finally got my hands on a shawarma pita with everything. Before tucking in I joined Courtney in her line as she waited for her falafel. Once again disorganization ruled as they ended up serving the people directly in front of and behind her, both of whom were waiting for falafel as well. But then that seemed to be the unspoken theme of the day – disorganized lines. As for the food itself…well I’m not sure how they define Los Angeles, but I am sure that I have had better shawarma within the city limits than I got that day. I also found it odd that part of “everything” is apparently French fries, which basically overpowered every other flavor in the pita. The bite of falafel that I had was tasty, but again not outstanding. I was overall a bit disappointed in the food.
The “Best” Shawarma in LA…
Buying a Souvenir / Talking to a Local
I was looking to combine these two, trying to find a vendor I could talk to about their items. At the same time I was looking for something that didn’t have the Israeli flag prominently featured as I was pretty sure that I ultimately wouldn’t get much use out of it. The cool item to get would have been a cutting from an Israeli olive tree (complete with certificate of authenticity). The problem being that it was a fairly expensive cutting that I would probably end up killing and even if I didn’t I believe it is a more involved process to make olives edible off the tree than I would likely undertake at this point. I chose instead to go with good luck/prayer necklaces. I was pulled in by the little books and scrolls but ended up gravitating toward the simple stone necklaces. I asked the vendor to tell me a little about the necklaces, but she did not seem to really be that interested in an in depth explanation – perhaps because she did not actually make the necklaces herself. What I did learn is that each stone represented one of the twelve stones on the Hoshen or breastplate worn by the High Priest for the Israelites which themselves each represented one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Each stone is said to have different properties and I was told at the time that the amethyst which I ended up getting is supposed to bring good health, which I figure isn’t a bad thing to have. Unfortunately, after further research, it seems that the power of the amethyst – the stone of Gad – is to quench inordinate thirst for strong drink, something that doesn’t really affect me anyway. Also, not being one who wears a lot of jewelry, after I wore the necklace for one afternoon it ended up hanging from my rearview mirror. Hopefully it helps my car kick it’s gas-guzzling habit.
Question: Why didn’t I buy this? Answer: I’m crazy!…
Overall I would rate the Israel Festival two out of five Stars of David. They certainly stuck to their theme (even the dogs appeared to be Israeli), but as I left feeling like an outsider I think it is a festival less about sharing with the outside community and more about celebrating with those on the inside. Plus the food, which was admittedly the main draw for me, was a bit of a let down. With the carnival rides and (supposed) petting zoo it could be a good family outing for those who want to spend a day out in the sun. With the wealth of Jewish groups and Israeli birthright opportunities it would be a great outing for members of the Jewish community or Israeli ex-pats as well. For the average gentile without kids and a distrust of temporary carnival rides, it was a bit of a let down.
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