June 2024

Sholem Aleichem, Friend,

We are happy to present, co-present, or sponsor so many interesting events in June including KLEZCADIA, the all-new, free, online Yiddish culture festival that begins next Tuesday. KLEZCADIA online registration ends TODAY!

We are so grateful to Brody, KlezCalifornia's new volunteer, for having revived the Farshidns (This 'n' That) section of our website, with fascinating links to all kinds of Yiddish culture. Check it out! Mazl tov to Brody on his Confirmation!

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we invite you to join our mailing list.

A Ray of Sunshine – The Music and Life of Mordechai Gebirtig, with the Jewish Folk Chorus of San Francisco

Co-presented by KlezCalifornia

Sunday, June 2nd, 2pm PT, in San Francisco in person

Join the Jewish Folk Chorus of San Francisco for their 98th annual concert featuring the life and music of beloved Yiddish folk songwriter Mordechai Gebirtig. His timeless songs reflect the life and struggles of Polish Jewry between the two world wars. The performance will feature selections presented by the Chorus under the direction of Lisa Sargent, pianist Inara Morgenstern and, on a few pieces, violinist Sara Chazin. The concert will be accompanied by a multimedia narration of Gebirtig’s life.

More info and registration »

KLEZCADIA – A Safer Shtetl for Klezmer Music & Yiddish Culture

U.S. Friends of KLEZCADIA is fiscally-sponsored by KlezCalifornia



Tuesday, June 4th - Sunday, June 9th, online

KLEZCADIA – A Safer Shtetl for Klezmer Music & Yiddish Culture – is a new, free festival and learning retreat, offered both in person and on Zoom, that prioritizes the safe experience of immunocompromised and high-risk participants. Its June 4-9 2024 inaugural season in the beautiful Cascadian city of Victoria, British Columbia will feature the virtuoso klezmer band Veretski Pass and other outstanding artists from both sides of the border. Although in-person attendance is fully-subscribed, you may participate online at no charge. Registration ends today!

More info and registration »

36th Annual East Bay Tikkun

Co-presented by KlezCalifornia



Sunday, June 9th, 2-8pm PT, in Berkeley in person

KlezCalifornia is presenting two among the many offered workshops at the East Bay's 36th Annual Day of Learning in Honor of Shevuis (Shavuot):

Singing Around the Campfire in Hebrew and Yiddish, with

Claire Sherman and Judy Kunofsky

We will sing around the campfire in Hebrew and Yiddish, except in comfortable chairs, no campfire, no marshmallows, no mosquitoes, and no flashlights. Songsheets provided. Achi Ben Shalom will accompany us on guitar.

Learn to Make Paper-Cut Royzelakh for Shevuis (Shavuot), with Claire Sherman

In Eastern Europe, Jews decorated their windows for Shevuis with these paper-cut roses, which are reminiscent of paper snowflakes. Learn the secret to folding them so that one snip creates a mogn dovid (Jewish star) in the center. Appropriate for anyone who can cut with scissors. No artistic talent necessary.

The JCC East Bay welcomes you to this beloved community event! Event pre-registration is required. Registered attendees will receive a PDF schedule of classes at the email address with which they registered. Shevuis begins Tuesday evening, June 11.

More info and registration »

Emigres & Exiles in Hollywood: Album Release Concert

Co-presented by KlezCalifornia



Saturday, June 15th, 7:30pm PT, in Berkeley in person and online

Chamber music group Ensemble For These Times celebrates the release of “Emigres & Exiles in Hollywood” with a concert featuring favorites from the album by Erich Korngold, Miklos Rozsa, Alexandre Tansman and more. This album is the newest from the group’s multi-year exploration of rarely-heard chamber works and movie arrangements by the talented Jewish composers who fled the Holocaust for Los Angeles in the 1930s and ‘40s. Instrumental in creating today’s “Hollywood” sound, many went on to win multiple Academy Awards. Also on the program will be ”Cabaret Songs” (Brettl Lieder) by Arnold Schoenberg. Performers will be E4TT (McGuinness, Monroe and Halbig) with guest coloratura soprano Chelsea Hollow.

More info and registration »

TASTES OF YIDDISH CULTURE SERIES

Flisik Yidish Salon

Presented by KlezCalifornia



Sunday, June 16th, 2-3pm PT, online (calculate your local time HERE). 

This monthly online conversation Salon is for fluent (flisik) Yiddish speakers. No charge.

Di teme far may vet zayn: Zent ir gikher an optimist tsi a pesimist? Bashraybt ayer blik af der velt. Iz ayer tate geven an optimist tsi a pesimist? Zent ir gerotn in im?

זענט איר גיכער אַן אָפּטימיסט צי אַ פּעסימיסט? באַשרײַבט אײַער בליק אױף דער װעלט. איז אײַער טאַטע געװען אַן אָפּטימיסט צי אַ פּעסימיסט? זענט איר געראָטן אין אים?

More info and registration »

Yiddish Theatre Ensemble’s Play Reading at the Magnes

Fiscally sponsored by KlezCalifornia

Sunday, June 23rd, 1-3pm PT, in Berkeley in person

Join the Bay Area's award-winning Yiddish Theatre Ensemble for a staged reading of Sholem Asch’s timely and provocative 1905 play, "On the Road to Zion." With a new English translation by Caraid O’Brien, the play features a cast of ensemble actors including Traveling Jewish Theater co-founder Naomi Newman, directed by Bruce Bierman. The audience will be invited to participate in a lively discussion afterwards with the actors and director.



In person at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, Berkeley. Free, registration required.

More info and registration »

Yiddish Culture Links

Helen’s Yiddish Dance Page is a website offering extensive resources on the dances of Jews of Eastern Europe. Watch a short dance clip with Molly Picon from the film "East and West" and other Yiddish dance videos.

• KlezCalifornia Event Directory (with many additional events) »

• Yiddish Classes Online »

Honor Wall

View KlezCalifornia's Honor Wall. Become a donor to post your tribute.