Organizers of the Jewish Cultural Festival are considering finding a new venue for the event due to attendance limits imposed by the West Tisbury select board last week. 

On Wednesday, the board signed off on Chabad on the Vineyard’s application for the August festival, which celebrates Judaism through food, music and art. The board voted 2-1 to allow the event in a field along Edgartown-West Tisbury Road, but said the festival could have no more than 300 attendees at any one time – less than half of what the festival had hoped for. 

Select board members Cynthia Mitchell and Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter voted in favor of the permit. Board chair Jessica Miller was the lone dissenter. 

On Sunday, Rabbi Tzvi Alperowitz, the director of Chabad on the Vineyard, said that the limitations would significantly hinder the event, prompting Chabad on the VIneyard to consider other options. 

“Unfortunately, West Tisbury’s proposal is simply not workable for the Festival,” he said. “Reducing participation to less than half of last year’s attendance is not viable, and it is completely impractical for guests to have to wait outside until others leave, as the select board suggested.”

Unless West Tisbury reconsiders the cap, Chabad on the Vineyard will likely need to explore venues in other towns. 

“The Festival has highlighted Jewish culture and brought greater diversity to the Island,” Rabbi Alperowitz said. “It would be a shame to move it, and a loss for West Tisbury. I remain hopeful that the Select Board will reconsider its position.”

The number of attendees at the festival bubbled up as a concern last year. The event, which started in 2023, has been held at a private property in a residential area. For the 2024 iteration, the event exceeded the town’s capacity limit of 350 guests. 

Ms. Mitchell voiced support for the festival, despite the town not having permitted an event of that scale recently. According to town administrator Jennifer Rand, the largest event permitted last year on a similar property was 400 people. 

“The upside of last year is they proved that they can handle 800 people,” Ms. Mitchell said. “I am convinced that just because we haven’t done it doesn’t mean that it can’t be done.” 

Chabad on the Vineyard previously came to the board in the fall to talk about the infraction. At Wednesday’s meeting, Rabbi Alperowitz apologized for exceeding the permit in 2024 and vowed to not do so this year.  

“The attendance permit we asked for this year is the amount of people that attended last year, a maximum of 800 people, including guests and staff,” he said. “While this was more than our permit allowed for last year, we unequivocally proved that we can host this number in a professional, seamless and safe manner.” 

The event, according to the application, was scheduled for either August 4 or 5.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Ms. Miller said she wasn’t comfortable with approving an event on this large of a scale. 

“I appreciate the forthright application of the 800 people. I have to say, from my perspective, that is too large for a residentially-zoned piece of property,” Ms. Miller said. “[I also have] a concern about setting a precedent that could then become problematic for future applications.” 

The board and Chabad on the Vineyard went back and forth on how to proceed with the application. Originally, the Chabad on the Vineyard’s permit only specified 800 ticket sales total, but that plan failed by a 2-1 vote. 

Mr. Manter suggested the new capacity limits, which then passed.

Support for the festival flooded in from attendees during the meeting, as well as through numerous letters submitted to the board.

“To the idea of precedent, there’s a difference between a wedding that somebody might ask to have 800 people and an inclusive community event, the intent of which is to build community,” attendee Amy Macy said at the meeting. “So to me, I do think there is perhaps an opportunity to consider each applicant and the type of event.”  

If Chabad does decide to hold the event in West Tisbury, the select board put the responsibility of keeping track of the number of attendees on Chabad on the Vineyard. 

“It’s essentially an honor system, and we’ve already been told that it more or less happened last year, so we know that they can do it,” Ms. Mitchell said.