October 2, 2023

Announcing Yiddish New York!

A Huge New Yiddish Festival/Cultural Immersion Program

December 24-29 on Manhattan’s Lower East Side

New York, NY – Yiddish New York (www.yiddishnewyork.org) will feature over fifty of the world’s leading performers, scholars and activists working to revitalize contemporary Yiddish culture in programs ranging from klezmer concerts, “Tantshoyz” Yiddish dance parties, “Zingeray” (Yiddish folksong sharing sessions), instrumental lessons, lectures, Yiddish lessons, walking tours, films, theater presentations, an art exhibition, special youth and teen programs and more!

Full festival 6-day passes as well as single day passes are now available on the website. Participants who register will gain access to events happening all over the historic East Village and Lower East Side — Yiddish New York’s hub for daytime activity will be at the 14th Street Y, with evening events occurring at clubs, theaters, museums and historic synagogues in the neighborhood. Yiddish New York will run from 1PM on Thursday, December 24 – 5PM on Tuesday, December 29.

Yiddish New York will feature major artists such as Grammy winning trumpeter Frank London (The Klezmatics), NEA National Heritage Fellow Andy Statman (clarinet/mandolin), Zalmen Mlotek (The Folksbiene National Yiddish Theater), NY Times best selling author Michael Wex, Obie-award winning theater director Jenny Romaine, acclaimed Yiddish singer Ethel Raim, award winning film director and composer Josh Waletzky, Peabody Award winning musician/scholar Henry Sapoznik and many, many more.

A  centerpiece of the festival will be the Adrienne Cooper Memorial Dreaming in Yiddish Concert, which will be held on Saturday, Dec 26, 8:00PM at The Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place (http://www.yiddishnewyork.com/special-events/dreaming-in-yiddish-adrienne-cooper-memorial-concert/). The concert will honor Montreal-based based performer Socalled (Josh Dolgin) with the 2015 Adrienne Cooper Memorial Dreaming in Yiddish Award for his innovative work as a singer, composer, hip-hop artist, and puppeteer.

Yiddish New York was created by a committee of nine leading Yiddish performing artists in response to the recent closure of KlezKamp, which had presented the world’s longest running Yiddish cultural immersion program in the Catskills each December for thirty years.

Low Cost and Accessible

To keep tuition costs as affordable as possible (under $500), with discounts for youth/teens, Yiddish New York will be a non-residential event. The center of activities will be the 14th St. Y (344 East 14th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues) and the adjacent Town and Village Synagogue, easily reached by public transportation and handicap accessible. Participants will make their own arrangements for transportation, housing and meals. Yiddish New York will set up on-line boards encouraging sharing rides and housing.

Registration Fees:

Adults $498

1st Youth $298

Additional Youth $248

Register at www.yiddishnewyork.com/registration

Register by Nov 1 for a special early bird discount to avoid paying a 4% online transaction fee!

About Yiddish New York

Yiddish New York celebrates and engages with East European Jewish (and other Jewish and co-territorial) traditions to foster new creativity, building bridges across borders – a culture under construction! Drawing inspiration from the historic cultural riches of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Yiddish New York will be a new intergenerational gathering featuring daily workshops and a broad spectrum of performances and programming.

Mission: Yiddish New York (YNY) nurtures a diverse international and intergenerational community committed to the celebration and creation of art, scholarship and social activism informed by Yiddish culture. Drawing upon the cultural riches of New York City, YNY’s December workshop/festival program provides a gathering place for community members to join together and deepen their engagement with Yiddish culture.

Partner Organizations

Yiddish New York is fiscally sponsored by The Center for Traditional Music and Dance.

Partner Organizations: The 14th Street Y, The Forward, The Educational Alliance, The Museum At Eldridge Street, The New York Klezmer Series, The Stanton Street Shul, The Town and Village Synagogue, The Workmen’s Circle, The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, The New York Jewish Guide and the New York  Jewish Parenting Guide.

Yiddish New York is grateful for the support of the Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation, the Atran Foundation, the Workmen’s Circle and the Adrienne Cooper Fund for Dreaming in Yiddish.

Meyer Harroch – New York Jewish Parenting Guide