18 May, 2020

KlezKanada is pleased to announce that our annual 25th Anniversary Summer Retreat will be held online this year, August 24-28th! While full program details will be released next month, we wanted to let you know some important information about this exciting event.

For this celebration, the Retreat will feature an all-star faculty of the world’s finest practitioners of klezmer music and Yiddish culture from across Canada and around the world. Join us for four full days of programming for all ages, backgrounds, and levels. You can expect a wide variety of offerings in instrumental klezmer music, song, and dance, classes and lectures on Yiddish language and culture, film screenings, first-class concerts, late night programming, plus social gatherings, opportunities for connection, and so much more. As best we can, we’ll be recreating some of our most beloved traditions, while building some new ones for the digital age.

KlezKanada is committed to keeping this virtual retreat as accessible and affordable as possible. Participation fees will be kept as low as possible and registrants will be able to sign up for a single session or concert, a multiple-day long course, or an all-access pass to the whole week’s worth of programming. We’ll have ample assistance available to help participants navigate new technologies and platforms, and programming will be spread throughout the day and evening, so anyone anywhere in any time zone can join us!

This summer we have also expanded the opportunities available through our Azrieli Scholarship Program for up to 100 recipients. Learn more about this program, open to emerging artists and scholars ages 16-35, and by clicking here. Apply now! (Priority deadline is June 15th, 2020!)

If you had already registered and paid a deposit for KlezKanada’s in-person retreat, please consider donating these funds to support our work during these challenging times. You may also use this deposit as payment towards the cost of a week-long pass for this summer’s virtual retreat, or you may request a refund. Please email at info@klezkanada.org and we’ll be happy to make the arrangements.