5 Unforgettable Tel Aviv Events

Tel Aviv is the most happening city in Israel on almost a daily basis, but even in Israel’s city that never sleeps, there’s a handful events that stick out on the calendar every year that deserve special mention.

Tel Aviv Pride Parade

Over the past decade, Tel Aviv has risen to become one of the top destinations for gay travel and a model for acceptance of the gay community in the Middle East. This is never more apparent than every June, when upwards of 200,000 from all over the world participate in Tel Aviv Pride Week, the Tel Aviv Pride Parade and all the parties and festivities surrounding them.

The Pride Parade is a massive event that attracts a lot of tourists, so if you plan to be in Tel Aviv for the festivities or just for a visit during that time, planning your trip well in advance is highly recommended.

Tel Aviv White Night (Laila Lavan)

For one night of the year, Tel Aviv is the “city that never sleeps” in the truest sense of the word, as the city celebrates Tel Aviv White Night.

In addition to special events at almost every nightlife institution, even museums, restaurants, art galleries and other establishments in the city that usually close at night, keep their doors open until sunrise. There are numerous club and street parties, concerts, lectures, classes, dance and theater performances, art exhibitions, walking tours and sporting events that take place throughout the night

White Night usually takes place sometime in June every summer and is a celebration in honor of UNESCO’s declaration of Tel Aviv’s “White City” urban area as a World Heritage Site.

Tel Aviv Volume Conference and Festival

Even though it just finished its second edition, the annual Tel Aviv Volume conference and music festival is an event party people will not want to miss.

The 4-night/day event attracts some of the top professionals, artists and DJ’s from the international electronic music scene as wells as tens of thousands of party-goers.

TAV has two parts.

During the day, it is a conference for professionals from the music industry with numerous lectures, presentations and more.

At night, TAV and some of Tel Aviv’s top clubs join forces to throw parties throughout the city for 4 nights in a row, with DJ’s from Israel and abroad playing techno, house, trance, drum n’ bass and more.

The past two years, TAV has taken place in January, making it the perfect excuse for a winter trip to Tel Aviv.

Purim

When it comes to fun, Purim is the number one holiday on the Israeli calendar, as people all over the country celebrate by dressing up in costume and partying much of the day and night.

The municipality holds an official Tel Aviv street party at Kikar Hamedina, but that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the other parties in the streets, bars and clubs throughout Tel Aviv.

Purim is also an exciting holiday for families and children, especially for those who like to dress up. There are plenty of special events at cultural and religious venues that are fun for the whole family.

The exact date of Purim changes every year, depending on the Jewish calendar, but it usually falls in March.

Tel Aviv Blues Festival

You might not typically associate Tel Aviv with the blues, but that’s about to change after the inaugural Tel Aviv Blues Festival in 2015. The festival saw saw dozens of musicians from Israel and abroad take over venues around the city to bring the distinctive American sound to Tel Aviv on the grandest level.

Many of the concerts were free, and in addition to traditional blues, there was an impressive range of related styles and sub-genres, such as rockabilly, blues rock, and country-rock-blues fusion, among others.

Some of the highlights were one-man band Lightin Malcolm bringing the Delta Blues sound straight from Mississippi and 83-year-old “newcomer” Leo “Bud” Welch, who released his first album ever in 2014 at the age of 81. Both will be making their first appearances in Israel.

And the local scene was represented by talented bands like Full Trunk, Lucille Crew, the Blues Rebels, Sawyer, as well as solo artists Ronen Green, Itay Pearl, Yaron Ben Ami and many others playeing discounted or free shows as part of the festival.

The festival was so successful that the promoters are already planning a Tel Aviv Winter Blues Festival in December and another round of the main festival in summer 2016.

Honorable Mention

Tel Aviv Jazz Festival

Usually taking place in May, the Tel Aviv Jazz Festival attracts some of the top Israeli and international Jazz musicians for 3 days of concerts at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque.

Each year has a different theme, but you can always be sure that you’ll hear a variety of Jazz sounds, from traditional to modern. The festival is also a great place to catch a glimpse of talented, up-and-coming performers.