Temple Israel

Celebration of Jewish Music, Art, Food and Ritual

June 7, 2018 By Dayton Most Metro

Temple Israel’s eighth annual Jewish Cultural Festival will be held on Sunday, June 10 from 11 am – 7 pm at 130 Riverside Drive across the river from Fifth-Third Field, near downtown.

The Miami Valley is welcome to enjoy the fun of this year’s free, family-friendly festival celebrating Jewish music, art, food, and ritual. “We are looking forward celebrating our Jewish culture and traditions with the entire Miami Valley,” said festival co-chair Mary Anne Davis. “In addition, we are excited to celebrate Israel’s 70^th birthday. Come spend the day with us for lots of family fun, good food, great music, and inspirational speakers!”

The festival will kick off with the annual Oy Vey 5k at 10:30 am, which is open to runners and walkers alike and boasts beautiful views of Downtown Dayton and the Stillwater River. Top male and female finishers will each receive a $100 cash prize and all participants will receive a finisher medal and tickets valued at $5 to use at the event for food or drinks.

Attendees can look forward to experiencing a Jewish culinary journey and sampling flavors from around the globe. Popular Miami Valley restaurants El Meson, Pasha Grill, Smokin’ Bar-B-Que, and caterer Bernstein’s Fine Catering will prepare traditional Jewish foods and add some spice to old classics. Homemade Jewish sweets including challah, cookies, honey cake and more will be available for purchase from Temple Israel’s bakery. Festivalgoers can also quench their thirst with some of the best local beers from the Dayton Beer Company and a great kosher brew from Schmaltz Brewing Company.

Children of all ages will enjoy the festival’s
Israeli-themed petting zoo, 18-foot tall inflatable slide, and educational craft activities. A lively open-air market will offer a mix of crafts and artwork by local Jewish and non-Jewish artisans including jewelry, clothing, and other handmade items directly from Israel and a new photography exhibit curated by Beit Hatfutsot (The Museum of the Jewish People) in Tel Aviv.

Beginning at 1:00 pm, a series of interactive presentations will be held in Temple Israel’s sanctuary in celebration of Israel’s 70^th birthday. Local speakers will discuss Jewish holidays and rituals, progressive Judaism in Israel, surviving the Holocaust, and Israeli innovation.

The festival will also feature live dance and music performances including traditional Israeli and belly dancing, Eastern European Jewish folk music, contemporary Jewish rock and blues, and popular tunes performed by the Dayton Jewish Chorale and the Miami Valley Music Men.

To learn more about the eighth annual Jewish Cultural Festival, visit http://tidayton.org/festival

Jewish Cultural Festival at Temple Israel Welcomes All

June 4, 2015 By Dayton Most Metro

The Jewish Cultural Festival returns to Temple Israel on Sunday, June 7 from 11am to 7pm . The entire community, both Jewish and non-‐Jewish, is invited to share traditions and learn about the Jewish faith. Temple Israel is proud to be the largest Reform congregation in greater Dayton. Their religious, cultural, educational, social and social action programs build on the legacy of those who have come before with innovations guaranteed to create a fulfilling and vibrant future for the congregation. The festival has expanded this year to include additional entertainment for listening and viewing pleasure, an Israeli-‐themed petting zoo, education sessions, and the Inaugural “Oy Vey 5k Run/Walk.”

Highlights of the event:

Learning: Lively and interactive education topics will center around specific aspects of Jewish culture, including food and cooking, Jewish athletes, Israeli responses to terrorism, unique and interesting Jewish ritual objects, and what it means to be a Jew. There will also be opportunities to learn about going “green” and supporting our environment.

Registry: Special this year is an interfaith and outreach effort with the Gift of Life bone marrow registry. The festival’s Mitzvah Alley will focus on the Gift of Life bone marrow registry and other interfaith outreach efforts and successes.

Entertainment: Main stage entertainment will showcase great music and dance, featuring folk, rock, klezmer,

Broadway music of Jewish songwriters and performers, and Israeli folk dancing. The music headliner is the Cincinnati Klezmer Project and our dance headliner is the Shimmy Cats Dance Troupe. Check out our entertainment page for the complete schedule.

Arts: An open-‐air market full of local artisans and entrepreneurs will have Jewish and Israeli arts and crafts for purchase.

Food: El Meson, Pasha Grill, Smokin’ Bar-‐B-‐Que, and Bernstein’s Catering will please the palates with Jewish foods in the style of their own menus, including falafel, brisket, hummus, Jewish deli, and some vegetarian twists on authentic cuisine. Our bakery will supply the challah, rugellah, honey cake, hamantaschen, mandel bread, and Passover brownies. Graeter’s Ice Cream can also complete your meal with one of their delicious (kosher) flavors!

Drinks: What could be better…for adults…than a cold kosher craft beer on a hot afternoon? Patrons can sample hand-‐selected brews direct from Schmalz Brewing Company, including He’Brew, Madtree, and Ace. For non-‐drinkers, an assortment of Dr. Brown’s sodas, a favorite in Jewish delicatessens, will be on hand.

Kids: Kids will have a hands-‐on experience at our Israeli-‐themed petting zoo, including a camel! Other crafts and activities about the state of Israel will be available.

Temple Israel Plans Celebration Of Jewish Music, Art, Food, Ritual

June 4, 2014 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Popular Jewish foods, live music, children’s activities, exploration of Jewish life, and a lively open-air market will all be part of Temple’s Israel’s fourth annual Jewish Cultural Festival on Sunday, June 8 from noon until 6:30 p.m. The festival — free and open to the public — will take place on the grounds of Temple Israel, 130 Riverside Drive, just across the river from Fifth-Third Field near downtown Dayton.
“Thousands have turned out in past years to enjoy the tastes, sights and sounds of Judaism,” said festival chair Sara Faust, “and we’re thrilled to welcome the community to our building and grounds for an engaging day of exploration and entertainment.” Temple Israel is the largest and oldest Jewish congregation in the Miami Valley.

A Jewish culinary journey of the world.
Popular Miami Valley restaurants C’est Tout, El Meson, Pasha Grill, and Smokin’ Bar-B-Que will prepare traditional Jewish foods of France, Latin America, the Middle East, and the southern U.S. regions. Visitors can mix and match dishes to sample flavors from around the globe, all for sale from the different restaurants. Homemade baked goods including challah, Passover wine cookies, and honey cake are also available to purchase.

Cincinnati Klezmer Project

Non-stop entertainment starring Jewish music of all kinds.
The Cincinnati Klezmer Project returns with the lively sounds of Eastern European Jewish folk music. Tim Pritchard and the Boxcar Suite will rock the festival with a selection of music by contemporary Jewish artists and songwriters. Other local music favorites will grace the stage with folk and Broadway tunes. Always a favorite, The Shimmy Cats will dance in the Israeli folk style.

Jewish craft beers to quench the thirst and lift the spirit.
What could be better…for the adults…than a cold beer on a hot afternoon? Try some of the best Jewish or kosher beer from domestic and foreign brewers. Kids and non-beer drinkers will enjoy several flavors of Dr. Brown’s Sodas, a long-time staple of delicatessens.

Children’s games, activities to entertain and educate.
Learning about Judaism will be fun and engaging for the youngest festival goers. Children may create candlesticks for Shabbat, sample some delicious challah bread, color Hebrew letters and symbols, sing and dance, and play other games.

A diverse educational program.
A series of interactive presentations in Temple’s sanctuary will highlight history of storytelling, Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust, answers about Jewish life, and the importance of interfaith dialogues. The international traveling exhibit, Lawyers Without Rights, which details the story of persecution of Jewish lawyers in Nazi Germany, is open to the public. Visit the festival’s Mitzvah Alley to learn about easy ways to incorporate “green” projects and programs into your life to help improve our community and lessen our impact on the environment.

A lively open-air market.
Tents and booths evoking the feel of Israeli markets will offer a mix of Judaica, crafts and artwork by Jewish and non-Jewish artisans.

Temple Israel is grateful to the community partners who support the Jewish Cultural Festival, including the Levin FamilyFoundation. In addition to groups and organizations listed above who are participating, Temple thanks all of our presenting partners and sponsors.

For more information about the Jewish Cultural Festival, visit www.tidayton.org, email [email protected] or call 937-496-0050. Temple Israel, founded in 1850, offers religious, cultural, educational, social and social action programs that build on the legacy of those who have come before with innovations guaranteed to create a fulfilling and vibrant future for the congregation.

Jewish Cultural Festival Celebrates Music, Art and Food!

June 7, 2013 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Popular Jewish foods, live music, children’s activities, demonstrations of Jewish rituals, and a lively open-air market will all be part of Temple’s Israel’s third annual Jewish Cultural Festival onSunday, June 9 from noon until 7:00 p.m. The festival — free and open to the public — will take place on the grounds of Temple Israel, 130 Riverside Drive, just across the river from Fifth-Third Field near downtown Dayton.

“Thousands have turned out in past years to enjoy the tastes, sights and sounds of Judaism,” said festival co-chair Carol Finley, “and we’re thrilled to welcome the community to our building and grounds for an engaging day of exploration and entertainment.” Temple Israel is the largest and oldest Jewish congregation in the Miami Valley.

A Jewish culinary journey of the world.
Popular Miami Valley restaurants C’est Tout, El Meson, Meadowlark and Pasha Grill will prepare traditional Jewish foods of France, Latin America, the Mediterranean and Middle East regions. Visitors can mix and match dishes to sample flavors from around the globe, all for sale from the from the different restaurants.

Non-stop entertainment starring Jewish music of all kinds.
The Cincinnati Klezmer Project returns with the lively sounds of Eastern European Jewish folk music. TheKettering Civic Band and Muse Machine will play Broadway, Big Band and popular tunes by Jewish composers, and Deceptive Play will rock the festival with a selection of music by contemporary Jewish artists like Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, the Beastie Boys and KISS…all nice Jewish boys. Always a favorite, The Shimmy Cats will bellydance in traditional Middle Eastern style.

Israeli or Jewish craft beers to quench the thirst and lift the spirit.
What could be better…for the adults…than a cold beer on a hot afternoon? Try some of the best Jewish or kosher beer from domestic and foreign brewers. Kids and non-beer-drinkers will enjoy several flavors of Dr. Brown’s Sodas, a long-time staple of delicatessens.

Children’s games, activities to entertain and educate.
Learning about Judaism will be fun and engaging for the youngest festival goers. Children may toss matzo balls into soup pots as a way to learn about Passover and its traditions, spin dreidls to learn about Chanukah, color Hebrew letters and symbols, sing and dance. Zoot Theatre Company will lead hands-on mask making in the children’s area as a wy to learn about Purim, and Zoot’s puppets will visit the festival to meet and greet visitors.

An educational program exploring Judaism in the Diaspora.
A series of interactive presentations in Temple’s sanctuary will highlight the similarities and differences among Jewish communities of different lands and times. Temple’s rabbis and area experts will also show and explain Temple’s Torah scrolls. Take an armchair journey of Jewish communities of Spanish and European descent and of Holocaust and modern times.

A lively open-air market.
Tents and booths evoking the feel of Israeli markets will offer a mix of Judaica, crafts and artwork by Jewish and non-Jewish artisans.

Mitzvah Alley.

Work with Temple members to improve our community and world.

Jews take our responsibility to improve our world very seriously. Through prayer and action, advocacy and tzedakah (charity), we are working to save and improve lives. Learn about projects Temple supports and other initiatives within the Jewish world.