Arts + Culture

“Hybrid” Film Festival opens on May 19th

By Julie Sherman

With just thirteen days until opening night, tickets are on sale for the combination Live/Virtual Edward S. Finkelstein Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival.  

It was quite a challenge this season, to balance the Festival that we wanted to present with the vagaries of Covid-19…

Anne Frank's Diary, Family Photos Come to Open Stage

By Adam Grobman

For more than twenty years, Open Stage Theatre has brought The Diary of Anne Frank to Central PA stages.

That tradition was interrupted in 2020 by COVID-19, when the troupe was forced to record the performance to be able to share it with area schools.

“They were at the f…

Bronner’s Jewish Cultural Studies Receives Jewish Book Awards Honor

By Adam Grobman

Longtime Harrisburg resident Simon Bronner’s latest book, Jewish Cultural Studies, has been recognized by the Jewish Book Council’s National Jewish Book Awards as the Winner in the Education and Jewish Identity category.

In the book, Dr. Bronner “charts the contours a…

"Mike Jacobs" Returns in Joel Burcat's Third Novel

By Adam Grobman

Harrisburg author Joel Burcat returns to the shelves on February 2 with the third novel in his “Mike Jacobs” series, entitled Strange Fire.

A follow-up to his previous books, Drink To Every Beast and Amid Rage, the novel tells the story of Mike Jacobs, a Jewish, 29-year…

Local Author’s "Torah Time Travel" Brings Kids Back to Biblical Times

By Adam Grobman

Discussion and debate are central and accepted parts of Jewish learning.

Did the angels that visited Abraham and Sarah have wings? Did the Red Sea really make a path for the Israelites leaving Egypt? You’d need a time machine to know exactly how it played out.

In his new…