Free Holy Land Festival at the Franciscan Monastery on July 16

Enjoy Middle Eastern dancing, food, olive wood carving and a speaker series, including curators of an upcoming exhibit at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a live discussion with Christians in Bethlehem:

3rd Annual Holy Land Festival
Saturday, July 16, 2016, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land
1400 Quincy St. NE, Washington, DC 20017

The day-long festival celebrates the culture and life of Christians in the Holy Land. Activities include performances by the Kufiyah Dabke Troupe (children’s Palestinian dance troupe from Montgomery County, MD), Arabic calligraphy, olive-wood carving and lessons on making authentic hummus and kabobs at home. Embroidery from Palestinian refugee women, books, olive wood items, Middle Eastern food from Jerusalem Restaurant in Falls Church and more are available for purchase.

A speaker series includes a live discussion with Christians in Bethlehem and a discussion by co-curators of the upcoming Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit, “Every People Under Heaven: The Many Voices of Medieval Jerusalem from 1000-1400.”

The festival is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington Holy Land Committee, which includes the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land, Bethlehem University Foundation, Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem Foundation and the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation.

For more information, visit myfranciscan.com/holylandfestival, see updates on our Facebook event page (@franciscanmonastery) or call 202-526-6800 ext 174.

SCHEDULE

10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Tours of the Monastery/catacombs and gardens (last monastery tour is 3 p.m.)

11 a.m.-5 p.m.: Exhibits, demonstrations and food vendors

11:45 a.m.: Kufiyah Dabke Troupe

12 noon: “Testimonies of Palestinian Christians: Live from Bethlehem”

12:45 p.m.: Kufiyah Dabke Troupe

1 p.m.: “Every People Under Heaven: The Many Voices of Medieval Jerusalem from 1000-1400” (curators from the upcoming Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit)

1:45 p.m.: Kufiyah Dabke Troupe

2 p.m.: “Modern Day Saints of Palestine: Women of Bethlehem”

3 p.m.: "Holy Land Principles” (corporate code of conduct for business in Israel/Palestine)

5 p.m.: Mass with Bishop Martin D. Holley, Auxiliary Bishop of Washington

About the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land

For nearly 800 years, the Franciscan friars have served in the Holy Land, caring for the people and the sacred shrines. The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, DC, was dedicated in 1899 as an oasis of peace, prayer and awareness about the Holy Land. Its full-size replicas of Holy Land shrines, Byzantine-style church and extensive gardens draw more than 50,000 visitors annually.