The greatest valued coupon book of the industry is back at the JCC’s front desk! This coupon book is a must have every year with over $5,000 in local and national savings. For just $25, one can be yours today!
Looking to purchase?
Use our unique link for the JCC of Syracuse or head over to the front desk at the JCC!
The JCC of Syracuse is excited to have a brand-new bus for the start of the Before and After School Program. Our new Bus #36 allows us to continue to serve the community by transporting children to school (Moses DeWitt, Tecumseh, and Holy Cross.) The bus also picks up children daily from Ed Smith in the Syracuse City District and all three FM Elementary Schools.
Not only do we use the bus for the Before and After School Program, but our new bus will also be used throughout the year for field trips and all of Summer Camp! If you see us out and about, give our driver Ms. Sandy a wave!
Join us at the JCC on September 20th or October 18th as we welcome Wegmans Pharmacist. These on-site pharmacists will be providing flu shots! Reservations are requested, make one today by calling 315-445-2360.
For over two decades, KlezFest has been Central New York’s annual celebration of Jewish music, culture and community. Performers, kosher food and dancing create a family-friendly festival. It started out in Armory Square and then moved “home” to the JCC front lawn, where it has been a fixture of early fall fun for many years.
Klezmer is a Hebrew word, a combination of the words “kley” (vessel) and “zemer” (melody) that referred to musical instruments in ancient times. It became colloquially attached to Jewish folk musicians sometime in the Middle Ages. Jewish musicians (klezmorim) developed their own unique style out of a variety of local musical styles, including Russian dances, Chassidic drinking songs and Hungarian Roma bravado. Because of this, a klezmer concert is a true variety show.
KlezFest 2023 will be held on September 10 from noon to 4 pm at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse. Open to the public at no charge, it will feature three sterling acts. Opening will be the Keyna Hora Klezmer Band, Central New York’s own klezmorim. The band has been in existence for over a quarter of a century, and most of its current members have played together for a decade. They love what they do, they love klezmer music and they love KlezFest. That love shines through every performance.
Second on the program is Joanie Leeds. Leeds won first place in the USA Songwriting Competition, an Independent Music Award, a GOLD Parents’ Choice Award, NAPPA GOLD Award, Family Choice Award and is a John Lennon Songwriting Competition finalist and International Songwriting Competition finalist. She has performed at venues nationwide including Lollapalooza, Clearwater Festival, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Wolftrap and Levitt Pavilion. She has been featured in The New York Times, People Magazine, Parents Magazine, Billboard and The Washington Post.
Leeds is an SU graduate and is delighted to be returning to Central New York. Her music has been played on many radio stations and rose to #1 on Sirius XM’s Kids Place Live. Her album, “All the Ladies,” was a Grammy®️ award winner. The songs that Leeds performs reflect the sense that life is a joyful adventure. Joanie believes that when she performs for children, they transform themselves into amazing creatures of joy, forgetting how to hold back. Seeing the kids get in touch with their true selves gives Joanie a sense of fulfillment that far surpasses playing for adults on the club circuit.
Third on the program is Brooklyn clarinetist Michael Winograd who has been called the top klezmer clarinetist of his generation. Winograd has recorded and performed with SoCalled, Budowitz, Frank London, and the Klezmer Conservatory Band. He has led workshops and performed near and far, with highlighted performances in Reunion Island, the Dawson City Music Festival (Yukon), the Winnipeg and Calgary Folk Festivals, the Klezmore Festival in Vienna and Carnegie Hall in New York City. He has taught klezmer music at the Paris Klezmer Week, KlezKanada and Living Traditions KlezKamp. In his spare time ,he produces records, composes music and plays synthesizer in the Brooklyn-based metal band Yiddish Princess.
While it’s mostly about the music, KlezFest is also a celebration of the Jewish community. All of Central New York’s Jewish organizations will have booths at the event to share their offerings. There will be artist and artisan vendor booths and a Kids Tent with arts and crafts. Dancing is certain to erupt spontaneously. And, of course, there is the food. Kosher corned beef sandwiches and knishes are the big draw.
KlezFest is a collaboration between the Jewish Federation of Central New York, the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center and CNY Arts. Additional support comes from Price Chopper, the Pomeranz, Shankman, Martin Charitable Trust and the Slutzger Foundation. But it would not be possible without the additional support of dozens of Very Important Program Sponsors (VIPS) whose donations keep the festival solvent. Anyone who wishes to be one of the VIPS is welcome to make a donation of at least $118 on the Federation website, www.jewishfederationcny.org/donate. (VIPS get a free sandwich, and drinks and dessert in the VIPS tent.)
Food, fun, and fundraising for a good cause were the hallmarks of the JCC’s Annual Meeting and Gala. More than 200 community members gathered at the beautiful Owera Vineyards in Cazenovia, New York for the Sunday, June 4 event, to enjoy cocktails and a kosher meal catered by Essen New York Deli of Brooklyn.
“Phenomenal” was the word Marci Erlebacher, executive director of the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center, used to describe the ceremony. “Everyone had a great time. The feedback I’m getting is what a successful event we had.”
In its 160th year, The Annual Meeting and Gala is a community event that supports various JCC scholarships for the Early Childhood Development Program (ECDP), Summer Camp including support for children with special needs, the After School Program, and more. During the event, outgoing board members were recognized, new officers were sworn in, and three community members — Shai Jaffe, Steven Wladis, and outgoing board president Steven Sisskind — were honored for their service, dedication, and contributions to the JCC. This year a video highlighting the honorees’ reflections on receiving these awards was also shown during the ceremony.
Jaffe received the Kovod award, which signifies honor and importance, and is given to a community member who has taken an active and outstanding role in events and programs. Jaffe, a graduate of Syracuse Hebrew Day School, works with the Afterschool and Camp programs as well as the ECDP.
Wladis received the Kovod Gadol award, which means great honor, and is given to a community member who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment, energy, and loyalty to the JCC and greater community. Wladis is managing principal at OneDigital, the VP of finance for Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas (CBS-CS), is actively involved with The Wladis Hats & Gloves Foundation, and has served as a JCC board member for nearly 20 years. “It’s extremely humbling to receive the Kovod Gadol Award, but also very meaningful, given that my father is in the JCC’s Hall of Fame,” Wladis said.
Sisskind received the Hall of Fame award, which is given to an individual who has dedicated themselves to the Syracuse Jewish community and to the advancement of the JCC. Sisskind is the owner of Sisskind Funeral Service, LLC and has served as president of the JCC’s Board of Directors for the last decade. “This year’s gala was everything I could have hoped for and more,” Sisskind said. “The video was spectacular, the food was delicious, the room was full, but not crowded, and everyone was just so happy to be there!”
After serving as president for an unprecedented 10 years, Sisskind passed the gavel to Phil Rubenstein, president of Syracuse’s United Radio and VP of the JCC board.
The Annual Meeting and Gala is the JCC’s biggest fundraiser, and Erlebacher was happy to report that the goal for this year’s event was met. “Without this event and without the generosity of our community we wouldn’t be able to give out as much in scholarships.” She added, “[The event] also means a lot to us because we’re honoring people who have been of service.”
The Tzofim Friendship Caravan brings excitement and energy through friendship and performance! Each Caravan is made up of a group of five girls and five boys and their two leaders. They are chosen to be members of the Caravan based on their maturity, fluency in English, and of course their talent! After several rounds of competitive auditions and interviews, the scouts spend a year training and rehearsing for their exciting summer.
JCC Gymnasium
The JCC of Syracuse is seeking bids for exterior lighting. All bids shall include pricing for equipment, accessories, parts, licensing, travel and labor and any misc. expenses. Please email Erin Hart, [email protected] for RFP information. Proposals are due via email no later than 5/4/2023 at 3:00pm and all questions must be submitted via email as well, no later than 5/1/2023 at 3:00pm. All bidders will be notified via email when a selection is made.
You bring the fam, we bring the fun!
JFAM at Camp Zeke is an all-inclusive camp family weekend. Experienced camp staff provide activities for all ages, and you will enjoy three meals (plus snacks galore) a day surrounded by your family and new friends. Your family can relax and recharge all while enjoying the beautiful outdoor setting.
The Jewish Federation of Central New York is partnering with Camp Zeke to offer families with at least one child aged 8 and under an immersive Jewish family weekend at the camp June 23-25. The goal is to help families build ties with each other and the greater Jewish community.
Camp Zeke is located at 31 Barry Watson Way, Lakewood, PA 18439, about a two-hour drive from Central New York, straight down 81 South. The camp offers comfortable rooms including linen and towel service, air conditioning and central heating. All have private bathrooms with stall showers and can be set up in a combination of ways to accommodate family sizes.
Throughout the weekend, families participate in programs geared to toddlers, older kids and adults. There is boating and swimming in Camp Zeke’s heated pool and 60-acre spring-fed lake. Joyful musical services are held lakeside and fitness and strength training are offered in a full gym. There are nature walks, circus arts, theater games, lakeside campfires and more.
The cost for a family of four for the weekend is $250 and is all inclusive. Federation subsidizes all other costs. Twenty families with one child under the age of 8 are welcome to apply. Places are reserved for three families from each of our community’s synagogues with an additional eight slots open to all.
JFAM believes that every Jewish family belongs at camp and welcomes all family structures, families with members who do not identify as Jewish, families of all races, ethnicities, sexual orientations and gender identities and families with children and/or adults with disabilities.
To apply for Camp Zeke, please email [email protected] and include your name, address and the names and ages of people in your family. You must have one child under the age of 8 to be eligible. Please indicate If you are a member of a synagogue. (Please note: There will be no proselytization of any kind at the camp.)
Do you want to know how to enhance your Passover Seder? Join the Syracuse Hebrew Day School and JCC Early Childhood Development Program for breakfast! Our community Rabbis are spending their morning discussing how to enhance your Passover Seder!
