Concert: The Borscht Belt—Remains of America’s Jewish Vacationland

Join the Museum at Eldridge Street’s historic Main Sanctuary for a concert and panel discussion about the rise and fall of the so-called “Borscht Belt.” Inspired by the important history and modern remnants of the Borscht Belt, as photographed and documented by Marisa Scheinfeld in her first book, The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America’s Jewish Vacationland, the music of The Solomon Diaries project, featuring clarinetist Sam Sadigursky and accordionist Nathan Koci, are songs of freedom, rebellion, celebration, tradition, independence, loss, hope, decay, and renewal. Fusing sounds of Jewish spiritual and Klezmer music along with classical influences, Middle Eastern rhythms, jazz improvisation, and tinges of Americana, these songs provide a contemporary lens through which we can trace the Jewish immigrant experience in America.

After Sadigursky and Koci play their set, they will be joined on stage by Scheinfeld to discuss the rich history of the Borscht Belt, from the old world where Jewish immigrants were coming from, to the initial farmers in this area of the Catskills, to the rise and golden age of the Borscht Belt, to the crucial leadership of women, and to the Borscht Belt’s decline. Listen to stirring music, learn the Borscht Belt’s history through the nostalgic lens of summer swims, Saturday night dances, and comedy performances, and see some incredible photographs of what these iconic places look like now.

A book signing with Marisa Scheinfeld will follow this concert.

Special thanks to McNally Jackson Books, who will be offering The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America’s Jewish Vacationland for purchase at this event.