Community Produced Events
As part of the Festival, we invited proposals of events design and produced by you! Browse the events below which mostly take place from Friday afternoon through Saturday night during the Festival. Please note that all communication, production and content of these events are run by the partners, not by the Festival, though you sign up for these events through the Festival registration system. Thanks to all of our talented collaborators for adding this whole additional layer of programming!
Cheese Blintz Souffle:
Deconstructing An American Jewish Dish for Shavuot
Friday, May 22 at 10 A.M. ET
With Ta’am
Together, we'll explore why 'Jewish' recipes always seem to be focused on meat; the origin of the blintz; how the freezer became an important part of preserving Jewish traditions for better and for worse; and make a seemingly-retro recipe come alive for Shavuot (or any time of year).
Babka Variations with The Kosher Baker
Friday, May 22 at 3 P.M. ET
With Paula Shoyer
Learn how to take your babka making to a new level with a demonstration about ways to shape chocolate babka. Includes classic twist, inside out, wreath, babka bites and cupcakes, ideas for new fillings and more, and how to make a healthier babka as well. RECIPES CAN BE FOUND HERE.
Skip the Brisket: How to Reclaim Your Health with
a Plant-Powered Shabbat Table
Friday, May 22 at 3 P.M. ET
With Plant Powered Metro New York
Explore the power of food as medicine and plant-powered dishes that can make your Shabbat table a place of healing and health empowerment.
ShabbatstivALT: Contemporary Jewish Poland Through the Arts
Friday, May 22 at 3 P.M. ET
With FestivALT
Join FestivALT, a Jewish arts collective based in Poland, for an introduction to contemporary Jewish Poland through alternative art, community activism, and, of course, food. Over a pre-Shabbat Kiddush, we'll introduce FestivALT and some of the artists we work with, and spark a conversation about Jewishness in Poland today, with difficult questions about community and representation, culture and memory. We'll also discuss the interplay between Jewish and Polish cuisines, and the Jewish food traditions that are still practiced in Poland today, often outside of a Jewish context.
Carbon Negative Kosher Meat
Friday, May 22 at 3 P.M. ET
With Jewish Initiative for Animals + KOL Foods
This session will show how through Regenerative Agriculture, kosher meat eaters can no longer do "less bad,” but actually do "more good" for their own health, the lives of the animals, and the overarching ecosystem.
Holy Cannoli! with Avner Schwartz
Friday, May 22 at 3 P.M. ET
Presented by Beth Am Israel
In this fun-filled, family baking class, you will learn to make Torah shaped Cannoli, just in time for Shavuot! Leading the class will be Avner Schwartz, a 13-year old, self-taught baker and member of Congregation Beth Am Israel (Penn Valley, PA). Avner recently starred in Season 8 of Food Network's Kids Baking Championship .
Dairy-Free Shavuot Lemon Bars
Friday, May 22 at 3 P.M. ET
With Alexa Weitzman of @SustainablePantry
Come join @SustainablePantry to see how to make a delicious and versatile no-bake, dairy- and gluten-free creamy lemon bar recipe that's perfect for Shavuot (or anytime!).
How to Bake Rugelach
Friday, May 22 at 4 P.M. ET
With Amy Kritzer Becker of What Jew Wanna Eat
Join Amy and her Mom as they bake rugelach together, but separate. They will share tips and tricks for rugelach success, filling ideas, fun stories, and more.
Making a Feast: Mezze and Sephardic Salads
Friday, May 22 at 4 P.M. ET
With Susan Barocas of Lilith Magazine
Bites of history and stories along with demo of several dishes focusing on Turkish, Persian, Moroccan and other Sephardic and Mizrahi flavors, using seasonal, easy-to-get ingredients.
Building Community Through Food
Friday, May 22 at 4 P.M. ET
With Illuminoshi’s Alix Wall, Queer Soup Night’s Liz Alpern, and Tiffany Shlain
Food is a natural means to turn strangers into friends and bring people together. In this conversation, you’ll hear the stories of three women who are using food to build three very different communities: Queer Soup Night, The Illuminoshi: The Not-So-Secret Society of Bay Area Jewish Food Professionals and Zoom Challah Baking, a popular online challah baking workshop.
Cooking in Quarantine: Shavuot Edition
Friday, May 22 at 5 P.M. ET
With NuRoots
Shavuot is coming, and we’re celebrating the most delicious way we know how: with a rad and interactive cooking demo with L.A. chef Marlene Bernstein.
Rabbi on the Rocks: DIY Jewish Cocktails
Friday, May 22 at 5:30 P.M. ET
With Rabbi Adina Lewittes
Join us as we mix modern drinks with ancient rituals, and stir up some talk about the history and role of spirits in Jewish tradition.
Food for Thought: A Mindful Shabbat Experience
Friday, May 22 at 5:30 P.M. ET
With OneTable and Repair the World Miami
Join us to virtually break bread, set Shabbat intentions, and explore how we might fight for justice for some of our most vulnerable neighbors.
Make Ba'be 'btamur بعبع بتمر
Friday, May 22 at 6 P.M. ET
With Jewish Currents and JFREJ
Annabel Rabiyah (Awafi Kitchen) will make Ba'be 'btamur بعبع بتمر an Iraqi-Jewish hand-rolled date pastry, while in conversation with Hannah Aliza Goldman (Jews for Racial & Economic Justice) about the politics of Mizrahi and Sephardi food, culture, and ancestral memory.
Spice It Up With Deb: Around the Shabbat Table
Friday, May 22 at 6 P.M. ET
With Debbie Kornberg
Spice maven Debbie Kornberg will teach you, step-by-step, how to build flavors and textures using easy-to-prepare recipes that will quickly become timeless dishes you will come back to over and over again.
Self-Care, Sustainability, and Shabbat
Friday, May 22 at 6:30 P.M. ET
With Hazon
Learn a permaculture inspired stack-your-life ethos to help plan for a healthy, productive, and nourishing week ahead before settling into a well-deserved Shabbat rest through ritual and community connection.
Midrash and Mixology
Friday, May 22 at 6:30 P.M. ET
With Rabbi Ryan Dulkin, Ph.D
What do Midrash and Cocktails have in common? They are both made up of ingredients, the sum of which is greater than their parts. We'll learn how to make an "Old Fashioned." Then we will study a great story from the Talmud that helps us think through what it means to be resilient in a time of great distress.
Shabbat on my Mind
Friday, May 22 at 7 P.M. ET
With The Blue Dove Foundation, NextGen Atlanta, and OneTable
Join us for a truly southern Shabbat ritual. Light, sanctify, cleanse, nourish, and appreciate in a safe space for Mental Health Awareness Month. Support your own mental health by starting your weekend with positivity!
20s + 30s Shabbat ShaZoom
Friday, May 22 at 7 P.M. ET
With Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan
Join us for a very special 20s + 30s Shabbat Dinner. BYO Dinner, and get ready to connect to the spirit of Shabbat together, virtually. You'll have the opportunity to mingle with others, and experience Shabbat rituals in a way you never have before.
The Global Table
Friday, May 22 at 7 P.M. ET
With OneTable & JDC Entwine, Washington DC
We will share a meal (delivered safely to your home) from the chefs at Foodhini, while hearing from Foodhini’s founder, local first-generation food entrepreneur, Noobtsaa Philip Vang.
Mindful Eating Shabbat Dinner
Friday, May 22 at 7 P.M. ET
With Rabbi Malka Packer-Monroe
Join for a mindful eating Shabbat dinner experience. Deepen your Shabbat practices as we explore Jewish rituals and appreciate the rich gifts of Shabbat as a time to mindfully pause, reflect, celebrate and nourish yourself and your community every week.
Trybe x Live Shabbat
Friday, May 22 at 8:30 P.M. ET
With Trybe
While we count down until we can gather for real again, we are streaming Trybe x Shabbat Live every other week as a way to mark time and close out these Q'tine weeks together. This week we are celebrating the close of Ramadan along with Shabbat!
Shabbat ShAlone, Together
Friday, May 22 at 8:30 P.M. ET
With OneTable
Friday night with OneTable is all about feeling good, and we’re here to help you keep that magic of Shabbat, while protecting the health and safety of one another. We know that this is difficult and isolating — but we hope that anticipating Shabbat provides you with a moment to exhale.
Great Big REALITY Shabbat Roulette
Friday, May 22 at 8:30 P.M. ET
With REALITY
After some beautiful music and community-led Shabbat ritual, we'll connect you with other amazing REALITY alum by breaking into a few rounds of intimate breakout groups with thoughtful or fun prompts to facilitate meaningful conversation. Breakouts are bound to be a mix of familiar faces and friends you haven't met yet!
Invite Only
Queer Shabbat Dinner Party
Friday, May 22 at 9 P.M. ET
With JDC Entwine
Attention, Jewish LGBTQ+ community! Want to come to a globally-themed queer shabbat dinner party? Join Lauren Ross and Matthew Nouriel (aka The Empress) for Shabbat dinner.
Pre-Shabbat Happy Hour with Young Adults
Friday, May 22 at 9:30 P.M. ET
With Netivot Shalom Young Adults
Join Young Adults @ Netivot Shalom for a relaxed and casual pre-Shabbat hangout. Food lovers and food professionals alike will chat about their favorite Shavuot recipes, memories, and food tips.
Dandelions & Manna: Jewish Foraging before and after Sinai
Saturday, May 23 at 10 A.M. ET
With Moment Magazine
Join Moment Magazine’s own Quarantined Cook Marcy Epstein for a fun Omer Shabbat morning exploring the beauty and tradition of Jewish foraging, from ancient days in Sinai to our modern lives in unfamiliar, uncertain circumstances.
Challah Juntos: Weaving Latinx Storytelling into Jewish Ritual
Saturday, May 23 at 1 P.M. ET
With Jewtina y Co.
Food is a powerful vehicle for storytelling. This is true both for individuals and at the collective level. Food is who we are, where we come from, how we live, what we believe, and who we will become. Our biographies are condensed into dishes and bites, like memories garnishing our stories. Join Jewtina y Co.'s team for a challah baking workshop that explores how baking challah physically allows us to weave Latinx cultural memory into our ritual.
Feeding Our Memories: Exploring Food Through Art Making
Saturday, May 23 at 1 P.M. ET
With Jewish Studio Project
Using the Jewish Studio Project's creative process, we'll use text study and art-making to uncover powerful food memories-- and how food can be used to foster resilience and connection for ourselves and our communities. No artistic experience required, just a love of food and willingness to get your hands dirty.
Unlocking Jewish Through Food
Saturday, May 23 at 1 P.M. ET
With 18Doors
Join us with your favorites recipes and stories and get ideas for how to share important aspects of your Jewish culture and explore other cultures through food. 18Doors staff Molly Kazin and Becky Sowemimo will share some of their personal experiences with Jewish food mash-ups, and give participants a chance to share as well.
EAT SOMETHING: Bagels, Bloody Moishes, + Book Chat
Saturday, May 23 at 1:30 P.M. ET
With Evan Bloom of Wise Sons Deli and journalist Rachel Levin, coauthors of EAT SOMETHING
Join the team behind the new cookbook EAT SOMETHING, and TASTE editor Matt Rodbard, for bagels, lox, Bloody Moishes — and a low-key, lively discussion of the VIP role food plays in the lives of jews today, from bris to shiva and every major or makeshift occasion in between.
Our Stories are Recipes, and Our Recipes are Stories
Saturday, May 23 at 3 P.M. ET
With Tina Wasserman
"Why eat kreplach instead of matzo balls in your soup for the High Holidays? "Are latkes really eaten because the oil lasted for 8 days in the Temple?" Our stories are recipes and our recipes are stories.
Homemade Bialys: From the Deli to Your Kitchen
Saturday, May 23 at 3 P.M. ET
With Arianna Garella
It's time to celebrate this Polish classic. In this class you’ll learn how to make Bialy's in the comfort of your own kitchen! We'll talk about bialy, how it became second in popularity to the bagel, why we should bring it back, as well as learn my preferred method for kneading dough and shaping bialys.
Mochi Latkes for Hanukkah and a Moongate Chuppah at Your Wedding:
A Conversation at the Intersection of Jewish, Asian, and American Identities
Saturday, May 23 at 4 P.M. ET
With Mitsui Collective and Nourish Co.
In honor of both Asian-American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) and Jewish heritage month, join host Yoshi Silverstein of Mitsui Collective in conversation with Kristin Eriko Posner, founder of Nourish Co, and additional guests, to explore how we bring our multicultural heritage into our Jewish expression and rethink what "Jewish food and cuisine" means and encompasses.
Think Traditional Jewish Food Like Corned Beef But Made From Plants
Saturday, May 23 at 6 P.M. ET
With Shamayim: Jewish Animal Advocacy, Jewish Initiative for Animals, and Jenny Goldfarb
Join us for a talk about the intersection of people's dual identities of Jewish and plant-based. Then we'll turn it over to our speaker Jenny Goldfarb, founder of Unreal Deli.
Land of Milk & Honey - An Israeli Shavuot
Saturday, May 23 at 6 P.M. ET
With Zehorit Heilicher
This year celebrate Shavuot like a native Israeli! Feast on a flavorful vegetarian menu based on the 7 biblical species of the land: dates, pomegranates, olives, grapes, wheat, oat & figs.
Workers Circle Taste of Jewish Culture: Liquor Infusion Happy Hour
Saturday, May 23 at 8 P.M. ET
With The Worker’s Circle
Until the 1840s, approximately 85% of registered taverns were leased by Jews, many of whom made their own wares. Workers Circle CEO Ann Toback discusses how Jews influenced alcohol distillation while showing us how to make our own liquors inspired by traditional Jewish recipes.
Havdallah Mixology with Rabbi Jeff
Saturday, May 23 at 8 P.M. ET
With Mishkan Chicago + The Well
Havdallah is an ancient ritual with all the ingredients for something new and delicious. At Havdallah Mixology, you will learn how to authentically innovate this tradition by incorporating the magic of Havdallah into your new favorite cocktail. Come celebrate the senses and bring some intention to your week!
The Great Big Jewish Food Fest, Darim Online and/or OneTable are not responsible for the content of presenters, hosts and/or participants in Community Produced Events. Individuals and organizations offering and producing and hosting all Community Produced events assume all responsibility and liability for the content of those events.