YIDDISH IN THE PARK
Yiddish singer Adrienne Cooper performs and co-emcees at the Workmen’s Circle’s second installment of Yiddishfest 2003, the first installment of which was at Lincoln Center. For this performance, Cooper — the only Yiddish singer ever to be nominated for a Grammy Award — sings songs about lovers in the early 20th century who can only find privacy in a forest or train station.
Other performers include actress Joanne Borts; Claire Barry, once half of the singing Barry Sisters; King Django, whose influences include dancehall, ska, roots reggae, punk, rock, soul, swing and American and Yiddish folk music; and the Klezmer Mountain Boys, led by clarinetist Margot Leverett. This year’s festival theme is “Four Generations of Yiddish.”
Hempstead Harbor Beach Park, West Shore Drive, Port Washington; July 17, 7 p.m.; free. (212-889-6800, ext. 270 or www.circle.org)
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
