Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow
There is nothing like it anywhere in the world. Each year for a full week at the end of June, the old Jewish quarter of Krakow turns itself into a mega celebration of Jewish culture. Over 20,000 visitors, from Poland, America, Israel and every European country, spend their days crowding into cooking classes, lectures, Yiddish poetry readings and art exhibits. At night, on stages set up on public squares, klezmer musicians from all over the world fill the summer air with the sounds of Yiddish singing and impassioned playing.
The Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture is proud to act as the principal American patron of the Jewish Culture Festival, because this isn't Ashkenazi history you study in a book- this is Jewish culture you taste, marvel at and dance to. And while fun seems to be the principal noun during this cultural week, the operative verb is learning. The thousands of American Jews who come immerse themselves in the rich Yiddishkeit their families brought with them to the new world. At the same time, thousands of non-Jewish Poles have come to understand how much of their own roots, passion, and music stems from these cobbled alleyways.
"Shalom on Szeroka," the closing night of the
Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow.
