Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

When Anna Averbukh and Ilya Ivyanskiy emigrated from Israel to the United States two years ago, they wanted their children to be surrounded by a strong Jewish community. Both of their children boasted big smiles and faces covered in the blue and white paint of the Stars of David at KlezFest.

“The main reason I’m here is because of the kids,” Averbukh said. “I’m happy when they’re here around their Jewish community… since we are not home in Israel.”

On Sunday, the Syracuse community gathered at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center for the 23rd annual KlezFest. In past years, the festival has been called the Syracuse Jewish Festival, JMac and Jewish Music and Arts Cultural Festival. In the past, the festival has included single band performances and a handful of activities and vendors.

Donna Lipton attended KlezFest sporting a T-shirt from the first iteration of the festival. Donna and Sidney Lipton, both Jewish, moved to Syracuse 25 years ago, and enjoyed attending Syracuse cultural festivals like the Polish Festival, the Italian Festival and the Ukrainian Festival.

But the two were disappointed that there wasn’t a klezmer band or Jewish festival to attend. In response, the Liptons decided to begin KlezFest in 2001.

Alec Erlebacher, the event coordinator, reimagined KlezFest this year. Due to a decline in attendance last year, he believed the scope of the festival was too limited.

He wanted it to expand beyond klezmer performances and kosher food, so he added art vendors and baking contests to the array of activities offered at the festival.

“I’m thrilled to see so many people here, not just from the Jewish community but from a variety of backgrounds, socializing, enjoying good food, dancing to beautiful music and reconnecting with one another,” Erlebacher said.

This year’s festival featured an Emmy-winning songwriter and producer, Hughie Stone Fish, as the emcee, and performances by The Klezmers, Daniella Rabbani and Dan Nadel.

Ella Chan | Asst. Photo Editor

Rabbi Yaakov Rapaport (left) guides Elie Ivyanskiy (middle) through drilling into a ram’s horn as Elie’s father, Ilya Ivyanskiy, watches on. At the Shofar Factory booth, people were welcome to create their own shofar, or ram horn trumpets, by sawing off the tips and then drilling holes to blow through.

The variety of food options at KlezFest also expanded this year. The festival offered kosher dishes from food vendors including JCC Kitchen, Paul deLima Coffee and DiWan Restaurant, who offered dishes ranging from latkes to falafel.

The food offerings aimed to provide attendees with their favorite dishes from all the different Jewish holidays, all in one place, Erlebacher said.

To take a break from the dancing and singing, festival attendees browsed the stands of local vendors. Stands ranged from stores like Parthenon Books, which sold a curated collection of books written by Jewish authors, and others featured independent artists, like Joshua Jumbles.

A member of Syracuse’s Jewish community and a childhood friend of Erlebacher, Jumbles was happy to be involved in the KlezFest this year.

“My putting color in my art is putting out good feelings to the Jewish community,” Jumbles said.

One of the main Jewish identities that Jumbles’ abides by is to “be a mensch,” he said. The Yiddish word “mensch” means to be a good person and uphold the values of integrity and kindness. Through his work, Jumbles hopes to illustrate that idea, and that’s why he decided to sell his art at the festival.

The festival also featured a baking contest for kugel, a traditional Jewish food, and a pickleball tournament. Festival goers danced and sang to traditional Jewish songs like “Hava Nagila.”

While the event was rooted in Jewish culture, the objective was not just to attract Jews, Erlebacher said. Erlebacher had all types of vendors come, not only ones with solely kosher kitchens. One vendor, DeWitt Bagels, doesn’t have a kosher kitchen, but the meals they catered for KlezFest were kosher.

Though the festival is not run by the Liptons anymore, Donna still attends the yearly event and is still as eager to listen to klezmer music as she was years ago.

“It’s so wonderful to see all the different people and everybody here and hugging each other,” Donna said. “This is the one time of year that you can actually walk up and see people you haven’t seen in years and give them a hug from the entire community, not just your own synagogue.”

Published on September 15, 2024 at 11:43 pm

lilyvzuckerman@gmail.com