Food, crafts, and entertainment are all central features of Jewish Culture Fest, but the event also showcases the many Jewish organizations and institutions that serve the community at large.
Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City is this year’s presenting sponsor. The event will be held on Sunday, Oct. 15, at the Jewish Community Center.
This year’s Jewish Culture Fest is expected to feature at least 30 participating organizations, up from the 19 that took part in the previous Culture Fest held six years ago.
“People will be pleasantly surprised to see how many organizations there are and how diverse our community actually is,” said Ethan Helfand, director of Jewish Experiences, a collaboration of Jewish Federation and The J.
As co-chair of the Jewish Experiences Committee, Miriam Kaseff recruited participating organizations with emails directly to the staff contacts. That personal touch hopefully drew more participation, she said, along with the number of years that have passed since the last festival.
“People are itching to get back together,” she said.
Participating organizations are an important part of Jewish Culture Fest, Kaseff said. “We wouldn’t be a community without all these organizations,” she said.
Some of the participants include new organizations, such as Ga'avah KC’s Jewish LGBTQ+ affinity group. Other groups in that category include Ahoovim, a program for adults with special needs, and Gather KC, which caters to members of the Jewish community in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.
Many legacy organizations will also have booths, including Jewish Family Services, Jewish Vocational Services, KU Hillel and Chabad at KU. Most area synagogues will also have booths.
Helfand is pleased that some summer camps plan to have representatives on hand during peak recruiting season for them, including Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and Herzl Camp. Students from the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and other youth organizations will also have a presence at Culture Fest.
One change from previous years will be having the booths of the participating organizations interspersed amongst the artist tents. That setup will integrate them more into the festival, Kaseff said.
In another new initiative, organizers have pushed participating organizations to get creative with their booths. This is a way, Helfand said, for the organizations to show off their uniqueness and authenticity.
Kaseff said the organizations “are going to be more actively participating, and people will be able to interact with them on a whole different level than in years past.”
One example is the Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation’s plan to have a “build your own Judaism” activity where visitors will post icons of Jewish symbols, such as a challah or Torah, to a board to represent the unique ways in which they connect to and live their Judaism.
In keeping with Culture Fest’s focus on environmental sustainability, Kaseff noted, organizers are encouraging participating organizations to create QR Codes that direct people to informational websites, rather than passing out pamphlets and other materials.
The range of participating organizations, Helfand said, will demonstrate to attendees the “wide variety of ways people can find meaningful ways to engage in and with the KC Jewish community.”
Ultimately, he said, “The bigger the tent we create, the more people we can welcome underneath it. Everyone belongs in our community and Jewish Culture Fest is a perfect example of how we put that into action.”
Sponsorship and partner opportunities are available for Jewish Culture Fest. Those interested in supporting the event can contact Cindy Bodker at .