Buy a piece of Jewish jewelry. Watch a Jewish folk dance. Learn about a synagogue.
For Jewish-American Festival Chairman Phil Deitchman, the event should be both educational and fun.
“For the non-Jewish community, we want them to come out and sample the Jewish culture, food, art and music and to know that we are just like everyone else,” Deitchman said. “And for the Jewish community, it?s just an opportunity for Jews to come together and celebrate the community.”
The festival, back from a three-year hiatus, was held on the parking lot of the Pimlico Race Course and drew about 50 vendors. Visitors also can have lunch and watch a variety of musical acts, folk dancing and even a self-defense demonstration.
Mayor Sheila Dixon was one of the notable guests in attendance.
“We have so many cultural festivals here, so the Jewish festival is just as important as the African-American or Korean ones,” Dixon said. “It just shows the cultural diversity we have here in Baltimore.”
The festival dates back around 30 years and was first held at Hopkins Plaza, said Ret. Col. Erwin Burtnick, the Department of Maryland commander of the Jewish War Veterans. The festival?s heyday wasin early 1980s.
“At the time, 100,000 people were coming,” Burtnick said. Since then, he said it was held on and off through the years.
“I?m astonished at the crowd,” said Lynda Stotsky, a jewelry dealer from Ellicott City . “We have a little of everything here.”
The festival opened with a performance by Joseph T. Smith acting as “The Amazing Josini.” A professional entertainer who attends many bat mitzvahs and bar mitzvahs, he said he was looking to expose his act to a wider community.
“I?m a lover of history,” he said. “The alliance of the blacks and Jews goes back a long time, so from a cultural perspective, I do feel that kinship.”
The festival concludes at 6 p.m. today. It?s sponsored by the Adat Chaim Congregation.
