The Sound of Winter is a new event starting in Jerusalem in February 2012. Every Monday during the month, the festival will move to another part of town bringing with it twenty to twenty-five events giving a grand total of eighty events in Jerusalem throughout the month! All of the events are free, and the events range from concerts to exhibitions, film screenings, cooking classes, workshops, art lessons, movie marathons and more! The Sound of Winter, Jerusalem will be taking place in Jerusalem in February 2012.

Pianist Richard Clayderman will be giving three concerts in Israel, in the cities of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa, in early March 2012. The trio of concerts will be the first in Israel for four years for the French musician whose career has spanned over four decades. Clayderman has sold over 100 million albums in 57 different countries, with 290 gold and 90 platinum discs, and his greatest hits include “Ballade pour Adeline”, “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”, as well as themes from West Side Story, Love Story and Schindler’s List, all of which will feature in his concerts in Israel. Clayderman will perform in Israel between March 1-3, 2012.

Idan Raichel is one of Israel’s most prominent musicians. As such he gives regular concerts across the country, and has one upcoming in Jerusalem. Famous for his ‘project’ in which he fused the music and sounds of cultures from across the globe – both those which comprise the diverse mosaic of Israeli society and now, beyond. He has consequently become one of the top musicians in the ‘world music’ genre in the world, performing with his troupe around the world. He will be performing a special concert in Jerusalem on January 19, 2012 to celebrate the launch of his upcoming third album.

The first ever Jerusalem Ice Festival will take place in March and April, 2012. The festival will be held in the Old Railway Station in Jerusalem and will include ice sculptures of many of the city’s major sites, an ice skating rink, a concert area, and an ice bar. All in a city which sees only a dusting of snow every few years! Because of the mild spring temperatures that Jerusalem will see during March and April, the area will be artificially cooled to about -10 degrees celcius.

The Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem’s Old City will be hosting a new temporary exhibition between December 30, 2011 and April 30, 2012 entitled “Jerusalem” for Four Hands: The Animated Films of Emmanuel Luzzati and Giulio Gianini, and features the amazingly colorful collages of Emanuele Luzzati and Giulio Gianini with layers of brilliant color lying one on top of one another to create magical combinations. In addition, the exhibition will revisit the animated film “Jerusalem”, which was created for the Tower of David Museum nearly two decades ago by Luzzati and Gianini.

The Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival is an annual film festival in Jerusalem held each year in December at the Jerusalem Cinematheque. Taking place over the Hanukkah holiday-period and lasting for one week, the festival showcases over fifty films from Israel and around the world, including feature films, documentaries, shorts, animations, and avant-garde films, with the overarching themes of Jewish faith and practice, history, culture, music, the Holocaust, modern life in Israel and the Diaspora, and relationships, between Judaism and other religions, and Judaism and the State of Israel. In 2011, the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival will take place between December 17-23.

The Mediterranean Musical Dialogue held at the Jerusalem Music Center is a music festival and workshop series featuring music from the Mediterranean Basin, namely, of Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Iraqi, and Greek origins. Not only does this festival aim to enrich the Jerusalem cultural calendar with a varied selection of more unique concerts, it also acts as an intercultural dialogue, and promotes cultural and political goals attuned with coexistence and peace. The 2011 Mediterranean Musical Dialogue will take place between December 20-25, 2011 with the concerts taking place at the Jerusalem Music Center and YMCA. Once concert will also take place at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

The Jerusalem Night Run is an annual night-time race through the ancient and inspirational city of Jerusalem. Returning to the city in 2011, taking place on December 12, the 10km race has in recent years become a pre-race for the full length Jerusalem Marathon which takes place in March. The 2011 Night Run in Jerusalem will be focused around the walls of the ancient Old City – it is totally unique.

Jerusalem Design Week is an annual festival of design taking place in Jerusalem. First hosted in 2010, the design week in Jerusalem returns between December 4-9, 2011 in what is set to be the biggest event of its kind in Israel. A grand opening event will take place on December 4 at the Hansen compound, where two design exhibitions will be presented. An international design conference, exhibitions, master class & design in the cinema event, are among Jerusalem Design Week’s events.

Hamshushalayim is an event series that takes place in Jerusalem during the first four weekends in December. Returning to the city for its seventh year, the series offers the public an amazing array of events at cultural institutions in the city with museums and tourist sites opening free of charge to the public and tens of free or very affordable music performances, street theater, musical. exciting night tours, and concerts across Jerusalem. The Hamshushalayim series will take place in 2011 on the weekends of December 1-3, December 8-10, December 15-17, and December 22-24.