After postponing its annual fall festival last year so that it could coincide with Israel’s 50th anniversary, the Jewish Community Agency of Sonoma is now gearing up for its Simcha Sunday fest this weekend.
The countywide Jewish celebration will take place from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at Sonoma State University, just three weeks before the Bay Area’s communal “Israel at 50” event June 7 in Golden Gate Park.
Organizers have planned their own Israel anniversary ceremony — for which they were still finalizing plans this week — for Simcha Sunday.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Simcha Sunday, which was designed by the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation to encourage Sonoma County’s unaffiliated to connect with the 600 affiliated Jews there.
Organizers of that first festival anticipated about 500 participants — mostly the affiliated — to attend. But 1,500 showed up.
Ten years and nine festivals later, the number of affiliated in Sonoma County has grown by 50 percent, according to Carolyn Metz, director of the JCA.
“The community loves this event. It was something they wanted to continue, even though the federation,” which used to sponsor and promote the event, “was no longer here.”
Even though Simcha Sunday continued to draw about 1,500 year after year and always led some Jews to affiliate, the federation decided it could not financially justify keeping its Sonoma office. The JCA assumed responsibility for the festival two years ago when it formed to fill the organizational void left by the federation.
Metz said she is encouraged by the Jewish community’s growth in the county over the past 10 years.
“We’ve added a new synagogue,” she said, alluding to Shir Shalom in Sonoma. “So now there are five in the county. We have a new generation of people who are involved as leaders in all the organizations here.”
Many of the new leaders are newcomers to the community, she said, adding that there are also new families that meet in the Sebastopol and Healdsburg areas.
Festival co-chair Judy Rosenthal said this year’s event will remain loyal to its tradition of offering a wide variety of Jewish and Middle Eastern foods.
World-class Jewish chefs as well as local chefs who specialize in Jewish foods will demonstrate their favorite recipes. But you don’t have to be a gourmet to enter the challah-baking contest.
Entertainment includes performances of the Limonim Klezmer band, Rick and Ron of the Jewish musical troupe Serenade, the Russian River Jewish community choir, the Shomrei Torah choir and comedian Ken Sonkin, who incorporates magic, pantomime and juggling into his act.
Organizers will set up the festival area to emulate the geographic areas of Israel. Participants will be issued mock passports to be stamped at designated stations. A passport with all the requisite stamps can be used as a ticket in a raffle drawing for an undisclosed grand prize.