KlezKamp is the world's oldest and largest program dedicated to the continuity of traditional Yiddish folk culture.

Founded in 1985 by ethnomusicologist and award winning record and radio producer Henry Sapoznik

Henry Sapoznik

Henry "Hank" Sapoznik העניק סאַפאַזשניק is an award winning author, record and radio producer and performer of traditional Yiddish and American music. With MacArthur Fellow David Isay, he produced the 10-week radio series the on the history of Jewish broadcasting for NPR’s All Things Considered...

, the program was designed to create an innovative and intensive environment where senior practitioners of the Yiddish folk arts—klezmer music, Yiddish song, Yiddish language

Yiddish language

Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...

, literature and poetry, the culinary and visual arts—pass on their life skills to newer generations.

Held every December at a hotel in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

's historic Catskill

Catskill

Catskill may refer to the following in the U.S. state of New York:* Catskill Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River* Catskill Mountains** Catskill Park, a protected area in the above mountains* Catskill , New York, in Greene County...

region, it attracts some 500 people from around the world who come to study with a veritable "Who's Who" of contemporary Yiddish life and culture.

External links

• Living Traditions. Living Traditions is the organization that funds KlezKamp annually.