by Amy Stein Milford

Sunday, June 3, 12-4 PM, 12 Eldridge Street

A unique slice of Lower Manhattan – where Chinatown meets the Jewish Lower East Side – comes to life at the Eldridge Street Project’s annual Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival on Sunday, June 3 from 12 to 4 PM. Chinese and Jewish musicians, dancers, storytellers and folk artists present their traditions and art forms at the festival, which takes place on Eldridge Street between Canal and Division Streets, with the Eldridge Street Synagogue – a National Historic Landmark – as its centerpiece. The Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival celebrates the two cultural groups that have lived and worked on the block, from the East European Jewish immigrants of a century ago to the Chinese community of today. A Hebrew and a Chinese scribe sit side by side in the synagogue sanctuary while outside on the street a Chinese Opera singer performs followed by a klezmer ensemble. Adults and children alike relish a good old-fashioned egg cream while watching a mesmerizing performance of Chinese acrobatics. A free event, the Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival draws hundreds of visitors from the neighborhood and around the city.

Performances and demonstrations by Jewish and Chinese artists, musicians, and community scholars will help audiences learn about and explore the ways in which these ethnic cultural forms are unique or have intertwined – stylistically, geographically, and historically. Highlights of the festival include performances by a Chinese opera star, Chinese folk-music ensemble, and klezmer group; hands-on demonstrations by a Torah scribe, yarmulke and tefillin makers, and a paper-lantern maker; Yiddish and Chinese children’s games, and, of course, delicious, kosher egg creams and egg rolls. Visitors to the festival can participate in a host of interactive activities, including mahjongg and Yiddish lessons. Interpretive materials will be available in both English and Chinese.

Both the Chinese and Eastern European Jewish communities place enormous value on traditions that have endured uninterrupted from ancient times to the present. Many of the day’s activities will have a multi-generational component, with older practitioners presenting and performing alongside young family members or apprentices. The Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival will highlight the importance of preserving cultural traditions and artifacts, including the magnificent Eldridge Street Synagogue – a community anchor since 1887 and a National Historic Landmark since 1996.

The Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival is produced by the non-sectarian Eldridge Street Project, which was established to restore the historic Eldridge Street Synagogue as a center for historical reflection, aesthetic inspiration and spiritual renewal. Concerts, literary events, art installations, workshops for school children, and other cultural and educational programs at the site serve audiences of diverse ages and backgrounds.

LISTINGS: The Eldridge Street Project’s Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival celebrates the two cultures, Chinese and Eastern European Jewish, which make the Eldridge Street Synagogue’s block so unique. Music, dance, storytelling, folk art demonstrations, and, of course, kosher egg rolls and egg creams give a taste of the traditions and art forms of these two communities. The event will take place on Sunday, June 3, from 12 to 4 PM, at the landmark Eldridge Street Synagogue and its Lower East Side block. This event is free and appropriate for family members of all ages. For more information, please call 212.219.0888 x 302. Directions: The Eldridge Street Synagogue is located at 12 Eldridge Street between Canal and Division Streets. F train to East Broadway; B or D train to Grand Street; #15 bus to Canal and Allen Streets; and the #9 bus to East Broadway and Market Streets.

The Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival is supported in part by the Folk Arts Program of the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

Visit a slideshow of our 2006 Egg Rolls & Egg Creams Festival

12 Eldridge Street, 212-219-0903, www.eldridgestreet.org

Amy Stein Milford is Marketing Director for the Eldridge Street Project