A festive atmosphere, excellent beer, food and a concert by Israeli rock legend Berry Sakharoff, resulted in an incredible summer evening at the Desert Beer Festival in Tekoa, Gush Etzion this past Thursday night. Council Mayor Shlomo Ne’eman said, “It’s wonderful to see thousands in celebration, consuming local products, and beginning the summer with an amazing festival.”
Everything that’s good is close by: The Desert Beer festival is a beer festival serving local beer only, that is produced in Tekoa and other communities across the Gush Etzion region.
This year is the eighth year Gush Etzion held the festival, and this time with the amazing Berry Sakharoff raising everyone’s spirits. Approximately 4000 visitors came to Tekoa from all over Israel, where they enjoyed excellent boutique beers, a happy and relaxed atmosphere, and a performance by Berry.
The Gush Etzion Regional Council invests a lot of work in this festival, and the number of participants increases each year, with many arriving from all over the country.
One older visitor to the festival told JewishPress.com that years ago he was arrested at this very spot when it was just an empty hill and the residents were fighting to get it legalized. He expressed his amazement as how it’s turned into a veritable Woodstock.
Shlomo Ne’eman, the Gush Etzion Regional Council Mayor, and Yesha Council Chairman: “The Desert Beer Festival in Tekoa is a Gush Etzion tradition and a unique event. The initiative began among the Tekoa community, and was adopted with open arms by the council. Each year we invest many resources in this festival and conduct fruitful dialogue with the beer makers. This festival has become a magnet, drawing people from all over the country.”
“It’s wonderful to see thousands in celebration, consuming local products, and beginning the summer with an amazing festival,” Ne’eman added, and thanked all the organizers who had worked hard to make the festival turn out as outstanding as possible.
David Rudman, director of tourism for Gush Etzion, said, “Thousands of people from across the country chose to come to a very special festival. The atmosphere was electrifying. We’re already working on more events to come, because everything that’s good is close by.”
And we can’t close up this article without mentioning the incredible meats by Baruch from Traeger Grills.
And in case you need a memento for when Shabbat ends, there’s even beer Havdala candles.
