KlezCalYidFest
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KlezCalYidFest, KlezCalifornia’s annual klezmer and Yiddish culture festival, kicks off Friday, October 9 with a weekend of concerts, workshops and dancing with local and international artists from the klezmer and contemporary Yiddish culture scene.
https://klezcalyidfest.org/tickets/
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9
7:00 PM
**Shabes-tish for all! Led by Deborah Strauss and Cantor Jeff Warschauer
A tish (literally the Yiddish word for table) is a special occasion – a chance to sit together, sing with words and without, bang the table, dance, raise a glass and take a break from the regular week of work and responsibilities.
Our KlezCalYidFest tish is for everyone; no background, previous knowledge or affiliation needed. Join us!
**Der Goylem: A Yiddish Puppet Spectacle with Lipe Boim & chaim kokhleffel
What would you do…
…if you could summon a golem to fight the empire?
…if you were a golem, trying to survive for the long haul?
The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of golems.
Der Goylem brings us together for some much-needed joy, grief, play, rebellion, celebration, and participatory art. This show marries Yiddish puppetry with large-scale protest puppet theater, a revolutionary politic with irreverent faggotry. Together we honor our ancestors and imagine Olom Hobo, the world to come. Der Goylem is by and for the trans and queer Jews of the East Bay, and anyone is warmly welcome to attend. Expect debauchery, degeneracy, and garlic.
K/N-95 Masks required.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10
10:00 – 11:30 AM
**Lecture: Critical Yiddishland is a dynamic group text-study and discussion that gets everyone thinking and talking about contemporary Yiddishkayt. In this session, we will explore the different ways that “Yiddishland” has been understood throughout the past century and discuss how we imagine, describe, and participate in the contemporary Yiddish cultural scene.
Led by Avia Moore
**Singing Workshop: Original Song Sing-Along
In this session, Yiddish singer-songwriter Adah Hetko will teach a selection of her original Yiddish songs. Both deeply personal and eminently shareable, these songs have been performed by choirs, taught in Yiddish classrooms, recorded (by her ensemble, Levyosn) and sung in the shower. Lyrics will be provided in Yiddish letters, transliteration and translation. All welcome: no singing or Yiddish language experience required.
Led by Adah Hetko
**Instrumental Workshop: Klezmer Half-Speed
Slow down! Phrasing, ornamentation, and rhythm for less advanced instrumentalists, or more advanced players who want to dig deeper at a slower pace.
Led by Deborah Strauss
11:30 AM
**Jam Session!
1:00 – 2:30 PM
**Dance Workshop: Take My Hand, Yiddish Dances for Everyone
In this repertoire workshop, Avia Moore and Deborah Strauss will teach dances from the core repertoire of the Yiddish dance tradition.
Led by Avia Moore & Deborah Strauss
**Singing Workshop: Storytelling Through Yiddish Song
In this session, we will study recordings of well-known Yiddish songs performed by singers of the past (Isa Kremer, Molly Picon, and more), and experiment with singing the same songs ourselves. What choices did these singers make in interpreting the songs and what impact did those choices have? What strategies can we use to get “inside” a song and express our own meaning through it? Some familiarity with Yiddish song repertoire and experience singing in Yiddish is required (Yiddish fluency and professional experience are not).
Led by Adah Hetko
**Instrumental Workshop: A few of my favorite things…
Having been in the Klezmer scene for almost 40 years, I (Cookie Segelstein) have played a lot of great tunes. In this workshop I’m going to teach some of my favorite ones. From the NY repertoire to archival material, and everything in between. Of course, stylistic elements included. A fun play along, you are bound to learn some new melodies for your favorites list! Open to all instrumentalists that are at least at intermediate level on their instruments.
Led by Cookie Segelstein
3:00 – 4:30 PM
**Dance Workshop: Musical Shers (and other Repertoire Treats)
In this repertoire workshop, Avia Moore will teach Yiddish dances in a variety of styles, from circles and squares to pairs. Come and be surprised and delighted!
Led by Avia Moore
**Lecture: The Jewish Labor Bund
Does a Jewish socialist organization founded in pre-revolutionary Russia have relevance for Jewish social activists today?
Led by Ellie Shapiro
Instrumental & Vocal Workshop: Cantorial Modality & Improvisation, The Bal-Tefile
This unique approach is a powerful way to develop new improvisational and compositional ideas. We will use the modal and motivic building blocks of the Bal-tefile (the lay prayer leader) as our point of departure. These basic yet profound motivic patterns are at the heart of Eastern European Jewish prayer and musical style. We will also include a quick review of the modal systems of cantorial and klezmer music.
This hands-on workshop is open to both instrumentalists and singers, and is designed to move at an advanced pace. No previous knowledge of Hebrew or liturgy necessary.
Led by Cantor Jeff Warschauer
4:30 PM
**Jam Session
7:00 PM
**Concert: Efnt Dem Toyer / Open the Gate!
The Strauss/Warschauer Duo presents an uplifting concert about love, unity, and the strength of Di goldene keyt, the golden chain of Yiddish culture that spans the generations.
**Tantshoyz: Veretski Pass & Avia Moore
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11
10:00 – 11:30 AM
**Food Workshop: Joys and Zoyers of Fermentation
Mike and Sasha are thrilled to share the joy of fermentation! Start your day with learning the basics of making your own sauerkraut. Taste a variety of traditional and radical sauerkrauts.
If you would like to go home with your own jar of sauerkraut, please bring your own cutting board and chef’s knife. We will have finite supplies so email [email protected] to reserve your jar!
Led by Sasha Waniewski & Mike Perlmutter
**Instrumental Workshop: Make The Bride Cry!
In one lesson, Josh will methodically teach the teeny-tiny formulas that make up the Kale Bazetsn and the Yiddishe Doina. These two semi-improvised tune types were the bread and butter of every klezmer, as they were designed to fulfill the mitzvah of making the bride cry at the wedding. Josh will guide the perplexed through the forest of confusion that often surrounds these beguiling genres in one crash course. Bazetsns and Doinas are fun and easy to play. Trust Josh. He’s spent years struggling with them.
Led by Joshua Horowitz
**Dance Workshop: Yiddish Dance Style
What makes Yiddish dance feel Yiddish? In this workshop Avia Moore and Deborah Strauss will explore the rich stylistic vocabulary that gives Yiddish dance its flavour. This class is open to all levels but will be oriented towards understanding gesture rather than learning steps.
Led by Avia Moore & Deborah Strauss
11:30 AM
**Jam Session
Led by Mike Perlmutter
1:00 – 2:30 PM
**Vocal Workshop: Yiddish Songs and Melodies of Love, Kindness, and Community
Together we will learn beautiful Yiddish songs and Hasidic melodies that will help us connect to one another, lift our spirits, and express our deepest feelings. All are welcome, ages zero to 120. No previous experience or knowledge necessary. Join us!
Led by Cantor Jeff Warschauer
**Instrumental Workshop: Like in a Different World
The playing and singing of Bukovinan fiddler Leon Schwartz, z”l (1901–1990) is a bridge to nearly a century of Jewish music and life. To hear Leon speak, sing, and play profoundly deepens our understanding of Yiddish gesture and phrasing and is an invaluable tool for klezmer musicians of today. In this session, open to all instrumentalists intermediate and above, we’ll do a deep dive into several of Leon’s most special instrumental pieces that include Leon’s singing and his spoken recollections.
Led by Deborah Strauss
**Dance Workshop: Yiddish Dance Leading
A session for those who love leading on the dance floor, whether interested, emerging, or established. Avia Moore will share leading tips for keeping the dance floor moving, safe, and joyful.
Led by Avia Moore
**Talkback: Der Goylem Artist Talkback and Puppet Meet & Greet
Come with your questions, your thoughts, and your feelings sparked by Der Goylem: A Yiddish Puppet Spectacle! Hear from the artists about their spiritual, artistic, and political inspirations. Meet the puppets up-close. Connect with the show’s community as we have a chance to name our collective griefs and joys.
Lipe Boim & chaim kokhleffel
3:00 PM
**Concert: Levyosn
Adah Hetko and Lysander Jaffe play original and traditional Yiddish song performed in intricate arrangements with rich vocal harmonies. Founded in 2021, Levyosn is a Boston-based ensemble specializing in Yiddish song and klezmer. The band takes its name from the Ashkenazi Hebrew word for the leviathan, a mythical sea creature traveling the world’s oceans collecting songs, krill, and dreams. Levyosn released their debut album, Levyosn’s Lullaby, in 2023, and their sophomore album, Levyosn’s Dream, in 2026, both through Borscht Beat.
Special thanks to Noah Youngs for his generous support of this program
POLICIES
~~~~
Code of Conduct
Everyone is welcome at KlezCalYidFest. This includes people from a diversity of backgrounds, with diverse levels of Jewishness and Ashkenazic-ness (including none of either!), and with a diversity of beliefs, including beliefs not well represented in the broader Jewish community about Israel. To make this work, KCYF requires all participants to treat each other with respect, including respecting all participants’ right to take part in the event, and any participants’ desire not to engage in discussion about their background or beliefs. Use consent as a guiding principle. KCYF does not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination. If you have any questions or issues, please reach out to [email protected]
Accessibility
Finnish Hall is wheelchair accessible, but not fully ADA-compliant. If you have specific accessibility needs, please contact us at [email protected] in advance so we can help make your experience comfortable.
Photography & Recording
KlezCalifornia may take photos and videos during the festival for promotional purposes. Please let a photographer know if you’d prefer not to be photographed.
Attendees are encouraged to make recordings (video or audio) of classes for personal use for at-home learning. Please do not share these recordings.
Health & Safety
Friday night’s event will be a K/N-95 mask-required event. Saturday and Sunday will be masking-encouraged, but not required. Please stay home if you’re feeling unwell.
Tickets
Tickets are non-refundable, but are transferable up to the day before the event (October 8th, 2026).
Contact
Questions about these policies or anything else? Reach out at [email protected]
https://klezcalyidfest.org/tickets/
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9
7:00 PM
**Shabes-tish for all! Led by Deborah Strauss and Cantor Jeff Warschauer
A tish (literally the Yiddish word for table) is a special occasion – a chance to sit together, sing with words and without, bang the table, dance, raise a glass and take a break from the regular week of work and responsibilities.
Our KlezCalYidFest tish is for everyone; no background, previous knowledge or affiliation needed. Join us!
**Der Goylem: A Yiddish Puppet Spectacle with Lipe Boim & chaim kokhleffel
What would you do…
…if you could summon a golem to fight the empire?
…if you were a golem, trying to survive for the long haul?
The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of golems.
Der Goylem brings us together for some much-needed joy, grief, play, rebellion, celebration, and participatory art. This show marries Yiddish puppetry with large-scale protest puppet theater, a revolutionary politic with irreverent faggotry. Together we honor our ancestors and imagine Olom Hobo, the world to come. Der Goylem is by and for the trans and queer Jews of the East Bay, and anyone is warmly welcome to attend. Expect debauchery, degeneracy, and garlic.
K/N-95 Masks required.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10
10:00 – 11:30 AM
**Lecture: Critical Yiddishland is a dynamic group text-study and discussion that gets everyone thinking and talking about contemporary Yiddishkayt. In this session, we will explore the different ways that “Yiddishland” has been understood throughout the past century and discuss how we imagine, describe, and participate in the contemporary Yiddish cultural scene.
Led by Avia Moore
**Singing Workshop: Original Song Sing-Along
In this session, Yiddish singer-songwriter Adah Hetko will teach a selection of her original Yiddish songs. Both deeply personal and eminently shareable, these songs have been performed by choirs, taught in Yiddish classrooms, recorded (by her ensemble, Levyosn) and sung in the shower. Lyrics will be provided in Yiddish letters, transliteration and translation. All welcome: no singing or Yiddish language experience required.
Led by Adah Hetko
**Instrumental Workshop: Klezmer Half-Speed
Slow down! Phrasing, ornamentation, and rhythm for less advanced instrumentalists, or more advanced players who want to dig deeper at a slower pace.
Led by Deborah Strauss
11:30 AM
**Jam Session!
1:00 – 2:30 PM
**Dance Workshop: Take My Hand, Yiddish Dances for Everyone
In this repertoire workshop, Avia Moore and Deborah Strauss will teach dances from the core repertoire of the Yiddish dance tradition.
Led by Avia Moore & Deborah Strauss
**Singing Workshop: Storytelling Through Yiddish Song
In this session, we will study recordings of well-known Yiddish songs performed by singers of the past (Isa Kremer, Molly Picon, and more), and experiment with singing the same songs ourselves. What choices did these singers make in interpreting the songs and what impact did those choices have? What strategies can we use to get “inside” a song and express our own meaning through it? Some familiarity with Yiddish song repertoire and experience singing in Yiddish is required (Yiddish fluency and professional experience are not).
Led by Adah Hetko
**Instrumental Workshop: A few of my favorite things…
Having been in the Klezmer scene for almost 40 years, I (Cookie Segelstein) have played a lot of great tunes. In this workshop I’m going to teach some of my favorite ones. From the NY repertoire to archival material, and everything in between. Of course, stylistic elements included. A fun play along, you are bound to learn some new melodies for your favorites list! Open to all instrumentalists that are at least at intermediate level on their instruments.
Led by Cookie Segelstein
3:00 – 4:30 PM
**Dance Workshop: Musical Shers (and other Repertoire Treats)
In this repertoire workshop, Avia Moore will teach Yiddish dances in a variety of styles, from circles and squares to pairs. Come and be surprised and delighted!
Led by Avia Moore
**Lecture: The Jewish Labor Bund
Does a Jewish socialist organization founded in pre-revolutionary Russia have relevance for Jewish social activists today?
Led by Ellie Shapiro
Instrumental & Vocal Workshop: Cantorial Modality & Improvisation, The Bal-Tefile
This unique approach is a powerful way to develop new improvisational and compositional ideas. We will use the modal and motivic building blocks of the Bal-tefile (the lay prayer leader) as our point of departure. These basic yet profound motivic patterns are at the heart of Eastern European Jewish prayer and musical style. We will also include a quick review of the modal systems of cantorial and klezmer music.
This hands-on workshop is open to both instrumentalists and singers, and is designed to move at an advanced pace. No previous knowledge of Hebrew or liturgy necessary.
Led by Cantor Jeff Warschauer
4:30 PM
**Jam Session
7:00 PM
**Concert: Efnt Dem Toyer / Open the Gate!
The Strauss/Warschauer Duo presents an uplifting concert about love, unity, and the strength of Di goldene keyt, the golden chain of Yiddish culture that spans the generations.
**Tantshoyz: Veretski Pass & Avia Moore
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11
10:00 – 11:30 AM
**Food Workshop: Joys and Zoyers of Fermentation
Mike and Sasha are thrilled to share the joy of fermentation! Start your day with learning the basics of making your own sauerkraut. Taste a variety of traditional and radical sauerkrauts.
If you would like to go home with your own jar of sauerkraut, please bring your own cutting board and chef’s knife. We will have finite supplies so email [email protected] to reserve your jar!
Led by Sasha Waniewski & Mike Perlmutter
**Instrumental Workshop: Make The Bride Cry!
In one lesson, Josh will methodically teach the teeny-tiny formulas that make up the Kale Bazetsn and the Yiddishe Doina. These two semi-improvised tune types were the bread and butter of every klezmer, as they were designed to fulfill the mitzvah of making the bride cry at the wedding. Josh will guide the perplexed through the forest of confusion that often surrounds these beguiling genres in one crash course. Bazetsns and Doinas are fun and easy to play. Trust Josh. He’s spent years struggling with them.
Led by Joshua Horowitz
**Dance Workshop: Yiddish Dance Style
What makes Yiddish dance feel Yiddish? In this workshop Avia Moore and Deborah Strauss will explore the rich stylistic vocabulary that gives Yiddish dance its flavour. This class is open to all levels but will be oriented towards understanding gesture rather than learning steps.
Led by Avia Moore & Deborah Strauss
11:30 AM
**Jam Session
Led by Mike Perlmutter
1:00 – 2:30 PM
**Vocal Workshop: Yiddish Songs and Melodies of Love, Kindness, and Community
Together we will learn beautiful Yiddish songs and Hasidic melodies that will help us connect to one another, lift our spirits, and express our deepest feelings. All are welcome, ages zero to 120. No previous experience or knowledge necessary. Join us!
Led by Cantor Jeff Warschauer
**Instrumental Workshop: Like in a Different World
The playing and singing of Bukovinan fiddler Leon Schwartz, z”l (1901–1990) is a bridge to nearly a century of Jewish music and life. To hear Leon speak, sing, and play profoundly deepens our understanding of Yiddish gesture and phrasing and is an invaluable tool for klezmer musicians of today. In this session, open to all instrumentalists intermediate and above, we’ll do a deep dive into several of Leon’s most special instrumental pieces that include Leon’s singing and his spoken recollections.
Led by Deborah Strauss
**Dance Workshop: Yiddish Dance Leading
A session for those who love leading on the dance floor, whether interested, emerging, or established. Avia Moore will share leading tips for keeping the dance floor moving, safe, and joyful.
Led by Avia Moore
**Talkback: Der Goylem Artist Talkback and Puppet Meet & Greet
Come with your questions, your thoughts, and your feelings sparked by Der Goylem: A Yiddish Puppet Spectacle! Hear from the artists about their spiritual, artistic, and political inspirations. Meet the puppets up-close. Connect with the show’s community as we have a chance to name our collective griefs and joys.
Lipe Boim & chaim kokhleffel
3:00 PM
**Concert: Levyosn
Adah Hetko and Lysander Jaffe play original and traditional Yiddish song performed in intricate arrangements with rich vocal harmonies. Founded in 2021, Levyosn is a Boston-based ensemble specializing in Yiddish song and klezmer. The band takes its name from the Ashkenazi Hebrew word for the leviathan, a mythical sea creature traveling the world’s oceans collecting songs, krill, and dreams. Levyosn released their debut album, Levyosn’s Lullaby, in 2023, and their sophomore album, Levyosn’s Dream, in 2026, both through Borscht Beat.
Special thanks to Noah Youngs for his generous support of this program
POLICIES
~~~~
Code of Conduct
Everyone is welcome at KlezCalYidFest. This includes people from a diversity of backgrounds, with diverse levels of Jewishness and Ashkenazic-ness (including none of either!), and with a diversity of beliefs, including beliefs not well represented in the broader Jewish community about Israel. To make this work, KCYF requires all participants to treat each other with respect, including respecting all participants’ right to take part in the event, and any participants’ desire not to engage in discussion about their background or beliefs. Use consent as a guiding principle. KCYF does not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination. If you have any questions or issues, please reach out to [email protected]
Accessibility
Finnish Hall is wheelchair accessible, but not fully ADA-compliant. If you have specific accessibility needs, please contact us at [email protected] in advance so we can help make your experience comfortable.
Photography & Recording
KlezCalifornia may take photos and videos during the festival for promotional purposes. Please let a photographer know if you’d prefer not to be photographed.
Attendees are encouraged to make recordings (video or audio) of classes for personal use for at-home learning. Please do not share these recordings.
Health & Safety
Friday night’s event will be a K/N-95 mask-required event. Saturday and Sunday will be masking-encouraged, but not required. Please stay home if you’re feeling unwell.
Tickets
Tickets are non-refundable, but are transferable up to the day before the event (October 8th, 2026).
Contact
Questions about these policies or anything else? Reach out at [email protected]
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Where is it happening?
Finnish Hall, Berkeley, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherKlezCalifornia
