After a long pause, Jewish Cultural Fest returns with art, food and these musicians
There’s only one place in Kansas City you’re going to find certified kosher sushi alongside knishes and Jewish country music. The Jewish Culture Fest is bringing all these things and more to Overland Park Sunday, Oct. 15.
“The festival’s a community event showcasing Jewish culture. The three main parts of it are art, music and food,” said Rhonda Fromm, who is co-chairing the event with Sharon Loftspring.
The Jewish Community Center has hosted the festival intermittently since it started in 1994 as the Jewish Arts Festival. It’s been six years since the last one, partly due to the pandemic. Fromm said she’s hoping that as many as 5,000 people will attend this year.
New features this year include a kosher wine tasting and a focus on sustainability. Electric cars and bikes will be showcased, Fromm said, and vendors are asked to keep sustainability in mind.
“We’re suggesting for them to maybe use compostable things; be as kind to Earth as they can.”
Numerous Jewish organizations, including local synagogues, will have booths promoting what they do, and each one will either have an activity or sell food.
“We’re asking organizations to try to come up with an activity, so if you go to their booth you’re not just getting a piece of literature and reading about it and walking on,” Fromm said. “I think one of the booths, they’re writing letters to put into the Western Wall.”
She also hopes people will walk away with more knowledge about how these organizations function in the community.
“JFS (Jewish Family Services) is one of the organizations, and they help people of all religions. They have a food pantry. They help people who just immigrated here from another country. There’s a lot they do people might not know about,” Fromm said.
One area will focus on kids’ activities such as face painting and painting kindness rocks to leave out in the community.
“It brightens someone’s day. Spreading kindness is a Jewish theme, tikkun olam, so we are really focusing on that. We’re trying to put some educational pieces as to what we do. It’s not being forced — there’s no class, no lectures. It’s just where we can, we’re trying to educate the community on Jewish values,” Fromm said.
Children’s singer ShirLaLa, a capella group the Maccabeats and country singer Joe Buchanan will headline the musical part of the event.
And visitors can expect to see fine jewelry, painting and pottery at the juried art fair, a popular part of the fest.
In addition to local artists, you’ll find people who have traveled from as far as Lake Tahoe, St. Louis, Baltimore and Houston. Four of the artists are under 18 and will share a booth as “aspiring artists.”
Food at the festival will be a mixture of traditionally Jewish foods, such as mandel bread, and food from other cultures, like chicken fajitas. Everything will be certified kosher, and booths will be marked as meat, dairy or pareve (neither meat nor dairy).
“A big theme is reconnecting, everybody coming together again after we’ve all been apart because of the pandemic. We’re hoping people of all faiths and religions will come and learn about the Jewish culture and values,” Fromm said.
The Jewish Culture Fest will run from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday , Oct. 15 at the Jewish Community Center, 5801 W. 115th St. Parking will be available at the Aspiria garage, which connects to the festival area via a walking path. Accessible parking is available, and much of the festival is on paved ground.
Advance tickets are $8 for adults and $3 for kids ages 4 to 12. All tickets bought on the day will be $2 more. For more information about the festival, visit thejkc.org/jewishculturefest.
