On Tuesday, August 8, the inaugural Jewish Culture Festival brings food, music and art to the Island in a celebration and exploration of Jewish culture.
Having perceived a visibly-expanding Jewish identity on the Island, from the creation of Chabad on the Vineyard to weekly community Shabbat dinners, event organizer and co-host Adam Zoia said he saw an opportunity to share the movement with the broader Island public.
“The idea is to expose as many different people on the Island as possible to what Jewish culture is really about,” Mr. Zoia said. “Of course, Jews have been here for a long time. But sharing our culture here is a relatively recent development. We want to show people what it all means.”
In collaboration with Chabad on the Vineyard, the event takes place at Mr. Zoia’s home in Chilmark, where two tents and a barn will hold cultural elements for guests to experience.
One tent will feature a center stage for musicians — some from the Island and others from Boston.
“People outside the culture often think of Jewish music as bar mitzvahs and the hora,” Mr. Zoia said. “But that’s not the case, and this will give us an opportunity to show that.”
At the same time, five food stations will present a range of delicacies made by chefs and bakers coming from as close as Vineyard Haven to as far as New York. Among them are James Beard-nominated pastry chef Zoë Kanan and kosher chef Hudi Riven, both of whom live in New York City. While there will be plenty for attendees to eat, demonstrations by chefs offer the opportunity to learn how to make cultural foods including challah and babka.
There will also be a kosher wine tasting supplied by the Royal Wine, one of the world’s leading suppliers of kosher wine.
“This is a way to present the broad and rich scope of Jewish culture,” said Rabbi Tzvi Alperowitz, co-director of Chabad on the Vineyard. “It fits perfectly with the lifestyle on Martha’s Vineyard, where there are already so many wonderful festivals every summer that showcase the Island’s immense diversity.”
In an adjacent tent, artists will showcase and sell their work in a pop-up gallery. Some of the art connects directly with Jewish spirituality, while others are abstract explorations by Jewish artists.
As attendees eat, drink and dance, Rabbi Alperowitz explained that the barn will be a venue for other content moments — conversations with Jewish community leaders and religious experts on a variety of topics including food, art and music.
Among the panelists is James Beard Foundation Book Award winner and culinary historian Michael W. Twitty, who will be leading a discussion about the intersection of food and identity.
“For any culture, those within it know it well,” Mr. Zoia said. “But for people who are not in your culture, their perspective is shaped by politics and media. A festival like this helps a culture gain exposure, which increases overall awareness and tolerance. I believe that facilitating education, as we aim to do here, will do nothing but good for the expanding Jewish infrastructure on the Island.”
The festival takes place on August 8 at 18 Point Inner Way, Chilmark from 4 to 8 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit jewishculturefest.com.
Comments
Comment policy »