These Programs were held in conjunction with the 2002 exhibit.
For information about our current program offerings, please
visit our Calendar of Events.

JUNE

Lower East Side Tenement Museum Adult Bus Tour
South Street Seaport
Friday June 14, 2002
6:45am - 5:45pm

The Mattatuck Museum will offer a bus tour to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City. Our bus will leave from the commuter parking lot on Chase Parkway at 6:45a.m. The tour will include “Inside/Outside and Piecing It Together: Immigrants in the Garment Industry,” with a delightful guided walking tour of the Lower East Side.

Explore the public spaces and historic buildings that new immigrants to America helped to shape and continue to leave their mark. We will then board the bus for the short drive over to beautiful South Street Seaport on the East River. Participants will choose lunch on their own at the many restuarants in the area. There will also be time to browse and shop. We will leave New York at 3:30p.m.

All reservations and payments must be made no later than May 24, 2002 to accommodate the tour guides in NY. No exceptions will be made. The tour is limited to 40 people.

Fee: $45.00 Members, $55.00 non-members.
Please call 203-753-0381 ext. 10 to register.

From the Crosby High Argus to The New York Times:
An Evening with Frank Litsky
Tuesday, June 18, 7:00 p.m.

Sports writer and Waterbury native Frank Litsky will share his memories of growing up in Waterbury and will tell tales of his exciting career in the newspaper business from his early days at Crosby High School’s Argus to the sports desk at The New York Times where he has covered every sport from baseball to dog shows. Litsky is the author of eight sports books including Superstars, a Sports Illustrated Book Club selection.

Hosted by Beth El Synagogue.
Free. Please RSVP.

Jewish Holidays - Passover Seder
Sunday, June 23, 4 - 6 p.m.

Did you know that the “Last Supper” was really a Jewish Seder? The Passover holidays have special significance in many faiths. Join Rabbi David Wiesenberg of Beth El Synagogue and Rabbi Judah Harris of B’nai Shalom Synagogue as they demonstrate the rituals of the Seder. Clergy members from the Greater Waterbury Interfaith Ministries will contribute the Christian perspective. Learn the meaning of: the ritual objects used, the historical events behind the Seder and Passover, the four cups of wine, the unleavened bread (Matzah), the bitter herbs, the salt water and the four questions.

Hosted by B’nai Shalom Synogogue.
Free. Please RSVP.

 

From Tummler to Top Banana:
The Influence of Yiddish Humor on American Culture
Thursday, June 27, 7:00 p.m.

Shlock…chutzpah...schlmiel… oy gevalt!
Yiddish expressions are part of everyday American English. Ken Libo will whisk the audience from Second Avenue via the Borscht Belt to the comedy clubs of contemporary America as he humorously illustrates how jokes, vaudeville routines, and movies taught us all a little Yiddish.
Dr. Kenneth Libo is the author and co-author of numerous books, including World of Our Fathers, for which he shared a National Book Award with Irving Howe, and How We Lived, a documentary history of immigrant Jews in America. Dr. Libo served as curator of American Jewish History at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, and Beth Hatefutsoh in Tel Aviv.

Hosted by Beth El Synagogue.
$5 Suggested Donation.
Please RSVP.

 

JULY

Layers of Identity in the North End
Thursday, July 11, 7:00 p.m.

Waterbury’s North End has been home to a multiethnic community since the late 19th century. Italians, Poles, African-Americans and Jews built homes and businesses in the city’s “melting pot.”
Historian Ruth Glasser will lead a discussion with North End residents and the audience who will be encouraged to share their neighborhood stories to explore and contrast their unique cultural experiences.

Free.
 

Jewish Road Rally
Sunday, July 14, 1:00 p.m.

Meet at B’nai Shalom Parking Lot, 135 Roseland Avenue, Waterbury, CT.Find the sites associated with the people, places and all things Jewish in Waterbury in this lively scavenger hunt by car. At the end you’ll be led to a mystery destination. Must have a driver and a navigator.

Free. Please RSVP.
 
 

Klezmer on the Green with Nefesh Klezmer Band Wednesday, July 24, 7:00 p.m. Nefesh is the Hebrew word for “soul.” This band will treat us to a “soulful” selection of Jewish musical traditions from Klezmer to Yemenite to Israeli tunes. Dancing is encouraged! Bring your lawn chairs and a picnic! On the Waterbury Green. Co-sponsored by the Waterbury Parks Department. Free. Please RSVP.

 

AUGUST

Blintzes to Gefilte: A Taste of Culture
Thursday, August 8, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Carol Byer-Alcorace, Executive Chef of the Mattatuck Museum’s Exhibition Café and Catering, will host an evening of tasty Jewish delights and the history behind them. She will discuss how Jewish foods have been reinterpreted. Participants will have the opportunity to taste some Jewish culinary examples (including blintzes), as well as observe Jewish cooking.

$5 suggested donation.
Please RSVP.

 
Stories for Children with Rabbi Marcia Lane
Sunday, August 25, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.

Youngster ages 8 to 12 will be fascinated by the stories and songs told by nationally known storyteller Rabbi Marcia Lane, who will weave a tapestry of words and music that will transport you to other times and places.

$5 Adults; kids free.
Please RSVP.

Stories for Adults with Rabbi Marcia Lane
Wednesday, August 28 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Enjoy stories from Eastern Europe reflecting upon the human experience. Rabbi Lane will weave her own experience into traditional stories.

$5 Adults.
Please RSVP.

 

SEPTEMBER

Finding Their Way: The Future of the Jewish Community in Greater Waterbury
September 12, 7:00 p.m.

The Jewish community in our region is going through an exciting and sometimes painful transition. The exhibit Finding Their Way; Generations of Jewish Life in Waterbury relates the story of how Jewish “settlers” and their children built and sustained a community for more than a century. Participants are invited to join a discussion on the future of the region’s Jewish community as it expands to area towns and welcomes new “settlers” into the city center.

Moderator: Arnie Dashefsky: Director of Center for Judaic Studies, UCONN
Panelists: Rabbi Judah Harris, B’nai Shalom; Rabbi David Wiesenberg, Beth El; Rabbi Eric Polokoff, B’nai Israel; Rabbi Ahron Kaufman, Yeshiva Gedolah of Waterbury; and Rob Zwang, Executive Director of The Federation, Jewish Communities of Western CT, Inc.

Free. Please RSVP.

Succot - The Harvest Festival
Sunday, September 26, 8 - 10 p.m.

Celebrate under the stars!
Every fall Jewish families build a “succah” (hut) open to the sky, covered with nothing but leaves, where they eat and celebrate the harvest festival. Students from the Yeshivah Gedolah will build a succah in the courtyard of the museum and children from B’nai Israel Synagogue will help to decorate it.

Everyone is welcome to join us in this joyful ritual ceremony in the succah. Learn the meaning of the succah, why it is built in the fall and the symbolism of waving a tall palm branch, the fragrant citron, pretty myrtle and plain willow twigs. Discover how Jews celebrate the reading of the Torah (Simchat Torah).

Hosted by Yeshiva Gedolah of Waterbury.
Free. Please RSVP.

 

OCTOBER

Bus Tour:
The Architecture of Joseph Stein
Sunday, October 6, 1:00 p.m.

Joseph Stein was a late 20th century architect of downtown Waterbury. His signature designs include the award winning Silas Bronson Library addition, the Waterbury Club and the American Savings Bank. Our tour, led by his son, architect Michael Stein, will also include stunning homes by Stein which demonstrate his brilliant use of modern materials to create rich textures and elegant design.

Fee: $7.
Please pre-register by calling 203-753-0381, ext. 10.
Space is limited.