Cultural life

Cultural life in our small, isolated desert community is mostly what we make it. 

In addition to informal social interactions, we invest considerable time and energy in holiday celebrations and "home-grown" cultural activities, which utilize the various talents of those who live here. 

For example, we plan a week of musical activities every year in memory of Anne Lewis, a member who died of leukemia, and who loved music. To honor her memory we create this special week each year. Events during Music Week might include a recital by all children and adults who study music, a concert of family ensembles, an acapella event on Friday night after dinner, a professional performing group that gives us a concert, a public screening of a movie with a musical theme (Amadeus, Sound of Music, Halehaka, etc), a workshop on drumming or on how to make a simple instrument, and so forth. 
 

There is also a wealth of activity at the regional center, a ten-minute drive from Ketura. 
The regional auditorium offers a varied schedule of plays, dance performances, movies and concerts including some by Israel's best-known entertainers, who come from hundreds of kilometers away to perform in our hall. 
The regional center also sponsors ongoing groups to study ceramics, arts, dance, movement, film, theater, and sports, as well as an outdoor club that spends weekends hiking exploring the hidden wonders of the desert. 

There is a regional sport hall with an indoor basketball and handball court, a fitness center and mirrored rooms used for judo, dance, and yoga groups. 

A therapeutic riding stable located at nearby Kibbutz Grofit offers advance riding lessons and opportunities for both volunteers and individuals with special needs. 

In addition to regular clubs there are special occiasions such as Israeli Independence Day, birthdays of the kibbutzim or institutions in the area or other holidays, when the regional council organizes special activities for the region.

On the kibbutz itself, we have a music room and a small fitness room.. We also have tennis courts, a swimming pool, a small scale soccer field, a very old basketball court, an archery range, and a stable with a small number of horses available for riding. 

The Culture Committee sponsors guest lectures and performances within the constraints of its budget. 

AIES (the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies) also offers lectures and events in English. 

In addition, members often share their experience by offering presentations based on their profession or recent trips or other adventures. 

Located in the middle of the desert, forty minutes from the nearest town, an active local cultural life is essential for Ketura. 

All Jewish holidays are marked with cultural activities, in addition to the traditional synagogue services and holiday practices such as Passover seder.

Holidays not appearing on the Jewish calendar, but which are celebrated on Ketura, include: Chag HaMeshek, or the kibbutz's birthday; New Year's Eve; and Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, which falls on the first Shabbat in February.