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Every year around Hanukkah Israel hosts the largest event of the year, the “Festigal.” The “Festigal” is an Israeli musical show for children, families, and even teens, that features carefully selected singers, actors, and entertainers.

Each “Festigal” has a different theme symbolizing the period. The “Festigal” takes place each year in several places in Israel, and it has been going on ever since it began in 1980.

This year on Hanukkah we will celebrate 40 years of the Festigal performances by havinga large and spectacular show that includes everything from the first “Festigal” in 1980 to the present “Festigal.” The people who were chosen to perform in this year's Festigal are the main characters from previous years' Festigals, and they will recreate the best songs of all the years.

For me this year's show is very exciting because I have always gone with my whole family to the “Festigal.” I remember that on the day of the show, the excitement builds up even before the show begins, and every child wants to buy all of the accessories from the show. To this day I remember all ofthe best songs and the themes of the Festigals.

Every year on Hanukkah there are about 150 performances throughout the State of Israel. Each “Festigal” has its own theme that characterizes the period, and this year the theme of the Festigal is "My Festigal."

After the start of the COVID-19, they tried to find a way to hold the “Festigal” this year in a creative way and that would be accessible and safe for all viewers wihtout having to completely cancel the show. Because of this, the producers decided to deliver the Festigal in a digital way that would be accessible to everyone. The “Festigal” runs for forty days, and each day a door is opened with a task that is related to a previous “Festigal,” and in the viewer can choose what way to go in the room. On the last day, the last door will open for the big show that took a few days to film. The organizers of the Festigal decided to give it this name “My Festigal,” because the viewer chooses the path of their “Festigal” making it their personal “Festigal” experience.

All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.

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