Author Julia Glass headlines Temple Sinai’s Festival on the Hill

National Book Award winner Julia Glass is the premier author whose signed works will be featured at Temple Sinai, 1 Community Rd., Marblehead, on Sunday, June 11^th, from 12-4 p.m.  Glass is the author of the award-winning Three Junes, and of Vigil Harbor, just out in paperback.  These and other of her books will be for sale at the festival, along with the work of other authors.

The free “Festival on the Hill” will feature a variety of activities for people of all ages.  This outdoor event also will feature live music and art by local professionals and emerging artists, creative activities for children, lots of great food, and an opportunity to meet and celebrate the season with the Temple Sinai community. 

Live entertainment will include Shir Davíd, a four-piece band playing music rooted in Jewish tradition infused with reggae and world rhythms. With the spiritual power of ancient prayer, Shir Davíd adds a contemporary edge to traditional prayers and songs, and delivers a dynamic set of sophisticated and moving original pieces. 

Another band to grace the stage will be a group led by Rabbi Michael Schwartz’s son, Yami, who will be bringing a Berklee College of Music ensemble to play some of Israel’s timeless jazz music.  Rounding out the day will be Steve Tapper and Audie Bridges, a flute and guitar duo who perform both traditional and contemporary Jewish music.  Daniel Gewertz, Boston Herald folk music columnist, has written this about them: “By creating a personal Jewish repertoire and putting their souls in the music, they have made their work.to be at least as ‘legitimate’ as the music made in nightclubs and coffeehouses.  Call it real folk music.  For in making a music of meaningful social occasions, they are serving a community in a more authentic way than commercial folk music could ever hope to.  They represent a sturdy, honorable marriage of art and commerce.”

The longstanding North Shore Israeli Dance Group will be leading some participatory dancing, and there will be a band performance by students from Marblehead’s Epstein Hillel School, as well a special performance by the EHS cast of “Fiddler on the Roof.” 

The performance schedule is as follows:

• 12:15 performance by the Epstein Hillel School cast of “Fiddler on the Roof”

• 12:45 Shir Davíd (Jewish Reggae)

•  1:30 youth performance by the Epstein Hillel School Ruach Band

•  2:00 Yami Schwartz and Friends (Berklee musicians playing Israeli jazz)

•  2:30 North Shore Israeli Dance (a participatory lesson for all)

•  3:00 Steve Tapper and Audie Bridges (flute and guitar duo performs fresh and masterful arrangements of traditional and contemporary Jewish music)

• All Day:  Artists, Authors, Children’s Activities, Plant Sale, Great Food, and Fun!

Featured artists are from the local community, including Nancy Marland Jewelry, Seaweaves Jewelry, the Afghan Women’s Workshop from the New American Center, the Knitting Club of Temple Sinai, and members of the Swampscott Arts Association.

The New American Center is just one of the many entities supported by Temple Sinai’s social action committee.  The Temple Sinai Knitting Group creates artful and colorful hats, scarves, mittens, baby, and small child blankets and teddy bears for young children to hug and hold, some of which will be for sale.  The organizations that benefit are Project Linus: which cares for children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need, Lifebridge, which works to meet the most urgent needs of the homeless on the North Shore, and local homeless shelters, which distribute the knit items to people in need.

The Temple Sinai Summer Festival is free and open to the public. Come visit our home on the hill for some fun in the sun!

For more information, check out our website at www.templesinaiweb.org.