Festival of Jewish Culture in Warsaw - "Singer's Warsaw" is an annual celebration of Jewish culture that has been held in Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

 since 2004.

The Festival includes Jewish (both Hebrew and Yiddish) theater, music, films, exhibits and expositions. It attempts to recreate Jewish culture from the period of interwar Poland

Second Polish Republic

The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...

, complete with historical buildings and atmosphere. Regular features include kosher food (along with instructions as to how to prepare it in one's own kitchen), dancing, songs, crafts, ceramics and posters. Numerous workshops, discussion groups and seminars are also held on topics related to Yiddish culture.

The festival is organized by the Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

-Israeli

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

-American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Shalom Foundation, which began in 1988 on the initiative of Gołda Tencer

Gołda Tencer

Gołda Tencer is a Polish-Jewish actress and singer.Gołda Tencer was born to a Jewish family, the daughter of Szmul and Sonia Tencer. In 1971 she graduated from Actors Studio in Warsaw...

, an actress and producer of the Jewish Theatre in Warsaw

Jewish Theatre in Warsaw

The Ester Rachel Kamińska and Ida Kamińska State Jewish Theater is a state theatrical institution in Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. It was named after the Theatre's founder and patron Ester Rachela Kamińska and Academy Award-nominated actress Ida Kaminska, her daughter...

. The purpose of the foundation is the popularization of Jewish culture in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, and the remembrance of its Jewish communities.

The first annual festival was held in 2004 on the 100th anniversary of the birthday of Isaac Bashevis Singer

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Isaac Bashevis Singer – July 24, 1991) was a Polish Jewish American author noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978...

 (note that Singer's actual birth date is uncertain).

The logo of the festival consists of a combination of a fiddler on a rooftop (to symbolize Polish Jewish culture) and that of the Warsaw Syrenka (to symbolize Warsaw). It was designed by Lech Majewski

Lech Majewski

Lech Majewski is a Polish film and theatre director, writer, poet, and painter.Born in Katowice, Poland, Majewski studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. In the 1970s, he then studied at the National Film School in Łódź, notably as a student of Wojciech Has, who taught Majewski directing...

.

The 2009 festival was held from the 29th of August until the 6th of September. Guests and participants included: Nigel Kennedy

Nigel Kennedy

Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...

 David Krakauer

David Krakauer

David Krakauer is an American clarinetist. He is a graduate of the High School of Music & Art, class of 1974. He is mostly known for his klezmer compositions. He became involved with klezmer music in the late 1980s while working as a classical musician, joining The Klezmatics...

 and Klezmer Madness!, the Gorale

Górale

Górale may refer to:*Gorals, a group of people indigenous to Polish, Czech and Slovak mountain areas*Górale, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship *Górale, Łódź Voivodeship...

 folk band Zakopower

Zakopower

Zakopower is a Polish Goral folk music group. It is named after Zakopane, the hometown of its lead singer.- Awards :* 2008 - Fryderyk award for Folk Album of the Year * 2008 - National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, Grand Prix- Discography :...

, Benzion Miller, Kroke

Kroke

KROKE – A Kraków instrumental ensemble of the world music genre. The band's name in Yiddish means Kraków.The band was founded in 1992 by three friends and graduates of the Academy of Music in Kraków. Initially, they were associated with klezmer music with strong Balkan influences...

, the author Hanna Krall

Hanna Krall

Hanna Krall is a Polish writer.-Childhood:Krall is of Jewish origin. During World War II she lost some of her close relatives. She survived the war only because she was hidden from the Nazis.-Journalism:...

, Michał Piróg, Trombenik, Janusz Tylman, Israel's ambassador to Poland Zvi Rav-Ner and many others.