From November 14-16, Champaign-Urbana was host to the Midwest Yiddishfest, a three-day Yiddish culture and arts festival co-sponsored by the Program in Jewish Culture & Society and the C-U Jewish Federation. The program featured nine public programs that covered a broad array of subjects, emphasizing the dynamism of Yiddish, its history, culture, language, music, and literature. The program attracted more than 350 participants of all ages, who came together for learning, music, food, and community. We were enormously pleased by the enthusiastic reception that this festival received. Below are some particular highlights of the weekend:
- Working in partnership with the Skeuomorph Press on the UIUC campus, PJCS faculty Rachelle Grossman and Art History graduate student Alex Lyon held a printing workshop and lecture on Yiddish print culture. Participants made posters and postcards using historical printing presses and authentic Yiddish metal type, including original artwork made for the festival by Chicago-based artist Lya Finston.
- Hillel’s Rabbi Gabe Miner taught a standing-room-only “Yiddish 101” class at the Champaign Public Library that gave participants a tam (taste) of the language and its history.
- Our Friday night Shabbos dinner and tish at Hillel brought together students and members of the broader community over delicious Ashkenazi classics and spirited Yiddish music.
- Sinai Temple hosted a lecture and performance by Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell on the intersection of Jewish liturgy and Yiddish popular music.
- With klezmer maven and retired librarian France Harris at the helm, we took over the Champaign Public Library weekly children’s storytime, where we read children’s books and taught Yiddish songs, expanding the reach of the festival into the broader C-U community.
- The Golden Thread Ensemble performed for our Saturday night showcase event, which included some of the most preeminent Yiddish and klezmer musicians today: Lorin Sklamberg, Craig Judelman, Abigale Reisman, Lysander Jaffe, Raffi Boden, and Kirsten Lamb. The concert, titled “Songs for Social Change,” focused on music that confronted the complex social and historical issues facing Ashkenazi Jews during tumultuous times.
- We had a delicious time at the rugelach workshop led by Hannah Altshuler, owner of the local farmers’ market darling, Everyday Feast. With registration over capacity, this workshop not only focused on how to make delicious cookies, but it also gave a glimpse into the history of Yiddish foodways.
- Showcasing our incredible regional strength in Yiddish studies in the Midwest, we held a Sunday afternoon “lightning lecture” series of short talks. Speakers presented on an array of subjects, including migration history, translation, children’s literature, klezmer, and the intersection of Black and Jewish musical cultures.
- Finally, we ended our program with a community-wide Kugel & Klezmer celebration where twelve competitors faced off in pursuit of the Judges’ Choice and People’s Choice trophies. We were thrilled to welcome guest judges Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen, Urbana Mayor DeShawn Williams, and Gioconda Guerra Pérez, UIUC Interim vice chancellor of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Some contestants brought out their family recipes while others creatively interpreted this classic dish, including Judges’ Choice winner Emily Stone for her “Not My Bubbe’s” cauliflower kugel bites.
This program was generously supported by A. Mark Neuman, in honor of his father Rabbi Isaac Neuman, z”l (1922-2014). A sheynem dank to major donors Jacqueline and Richard Ross and an anonymous donor. We would also like to thank our gvirem, our untershtitser, and our community sponsors: the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation, Oscar and Rose A. Einhorn Fund of the Program in Jewish Culture & Society, the Yiddish Book Center's Yiddish Arts and Culture Initiative for Jewish Communities, Dr. Samuel and Sadie Small Fund for Jewish Arts and Culture of the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Endowment Foundation, Golden Peacock Fund of the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Endowment Foundation, and the Jewish Federation of Springfield.