|
|
|
|
| I first became involved with the Jewish
Culture Festival in Cracow when I attended
the Festival events in 1992. It was an
incredible discovery for me, a place where I
could experience an immense amount of Jewish
culture in the course of nine event-filled
days. The fact that these events took place
in Poland, in the formerly Jewish quarter in
Cracow, made this event more powerful for
me. My family roots are primarily in Poland,
and I lived in Ukraine and Poland before
immigrating to the United States in 1961.
Returning there to hear the music and
experience the culture of my people in the
same synagogues and streets that Polish Jews
once flourished was a once-in-a-lifetime
experience. I loved it so much that I
continued to attend every year, and came to
know the Festivalís director, Janusz Makuch,
his staff, and countless performers and
participants very well.
Over the following years, many of friends
joined me at this annual pilgrimage to the
Festival. The vice-president and treasurer
of our organization is Michael Sztejnberg,
who has been a close personal friend since
1959, when we attended the Jewish school in
Wroclaw, Poland together. As our personal
involvement with the Festival continued to
grow, we finally decided in 2002 to form a
non-profit organization to be able to help
the Festival and share our knowledge and
appreciate of it. We are very passionate
about the mission of the Festival, and its
importance to the people of Poland, Central
and Western Europe, Israel, the United
States, and elsewhere, especially in these
difficult times.
We welcome your interest and
participation in supporting this truly
historic celebration of Jewish culture.
--Michael Steiman, Friends of the Cracow
Jewish Culture Festival President.
|
|
|
|
|
Photo/Design:
Pawel Mazur |
|
|
| “The Klezmer music that has
been made at the Festival over
the years -- on stage, at dance
workshops, and in the free
Klezmer duo improvisations --
has grown and deepened, and
there is a very powerful
response to it. Where else in
the world is there a
contemporary audience in the
thousands for Klezmer music, for
ultimately Yiddish song?”
-- Michael Alpert,
Ethnologist
Musician |
|
|
