Summer Thursdays at the Museum of Jewish Heritage: Games and Crafts

The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust will celebrate Jewish heritage after hours this summer with arts and culture on Summer Thursdays, starting this Thursday, June 26th, inviting visitors to come together for games, movies, arts and much more.

Summer Thursdays offer joyful, educational, and inspirational interactive programming such as Mah Jongg lessons and friendship-bracelet making, film screenings, and storytelling workshops, that encourage thoughtful conversation and social connection – all with the breathtaking backdrop of the Statue of Liberty on New York Harbor.

“As stewards of Jewish memory and history, we’re proud to showcase the different activities that make up the fabric of Jewish culture, some of which might be unexpected to the average visitor,” said Jack Kliger, President and CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. “We’re looking forward to welcoming guests to experience the social, informal environment that Summer Thursdays bring to the Museum.”

Summer Thursdays are free, but a $10 donation is recommended.

The series – held once each month from June through August – kicks off on Thursday, June 26th from 5:00 to 8:00 PM with games and crafts. Visitors can partake in bracelet-making, Mah Jongg tile-making, and can learn to play three games that have special ties to Jewish culture – Mah Jongg, bridge, and backgammon. For those who don’t need a lesson, there will be separate tables for open play. Visitors can also enjoy drinks with a view of the New York Harbor, and participate in a guided tour of the Museum’s current exhibition, Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark, an inspiring narrative of mass resistance against Nazism.

The next two events will be held on July 17th and August 7th.  July’s event is focused on the experience of the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors – in partnership with 3GNY. Visitors can watch a screening of “Bez,” a short documentary film about a New Jersey family’s journey to their ancestral home of Poland, and participate in a guided tour of the Museum’s permanent exhibition The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do.  Third Gen Collective will then facilitate a drop-in creative storytelling workshop.

In August, Summer Thursdays takes on new themes with a screening of of “The Offering,” a film that delivers “good-old fashion horror fun” (Marco Vitto Oddo, The Collider) with a Jewish folklore twist, and a follow up lecture on Jewish folklore and horror with The Forward’s culture reporter, P.J. Grisar.