The Borscht Belt was an iconic constellation of holiday resorts and activity camps scattered across Ulster, Sullivan, and Orange counties. This vibrant social landscape was largely carved and celebrated by Jewish individuals, particularly New York City denizens who faced exclusion from other holiday destinations and were inspired to cultivate their cultural heritage. While traces of this extraordinary epoch still linger, the grand resorts have all but disappeared, leaving in their wake echoes of a prosperous cultural heritage that until recently had not yet received its rightful recognition.
Fans of the era rejoiced when the Borscht Belt Museum was announced earlier this year, slated for a 2025 opening in Ellenville. Luckily, the brilliant minds behind the loving tribute didn’t make us wait two years to experience history. They recently opened a summer-long pop-up exhibit: “Vacationland! Catskills Resort Culture 1900-1980”. And this weekend, you’ll get as close as anyone has come to returning to the storied era as Ellenville is taken over by the first-ever Borscht Belt Fest.
The festival weekend starts in style on Friday, 7pm at Marbella, a classy tapas lounge. The weekend’s tone will be set with a performance by crooner Scott Eckers, and classic tunes by Jimmy Givens. Borscht Belt Museum trustees Robin Kauffman and Peter Chester host, with a cash bar for toasts.
Running parallel to the opening schmooze, Skate Time’s famous Roller Disco will be spinning its glittery balls from 6pm to 10pm, with DJ No Rules spinning boogie night music. Did we mention the roller rink looks like a set from Stranger Things and they serve beer and wine? It’s well worth the hike out to Accord.
The backbone of the entire festival is the “Borscht Belt Fest Street Fair”, which will take over several blocks of Ellenville from 11am-6pm. Experience a revitalized taste of the Borscht Belt, not as a simple throwback, but a vibrant reincarnation that embodies both the nostalgic charm and a contemporary vibrancy. The event, meticulously curated, will feature an array of local artisans, a wealth of nostalgic merchandise to evoke fond memories, and of course, the heart of any gathering – food. Expect artful reimaginations of Jewish classics, a melding of tradition and innovation that are sure to tickle the palate. This gastronomic experience is brought to you through partnerships with numerous local and regional restaurants, delis, and food trucks.
Comedy is arguably what the Borscht Belt is best remembered for, and this festival pays fitting homage with performances from sixteen comedians and one comedy workshop. Good luck getting your yuks, though – at press time, all the comedy events were sold out save for two shows at Shadowland Stages: a live tongue-in-cheek game show at 10pm Saturday (premise: guess who’s not stoned) and the aforementioned workshop (hosted by acclaimed comedian Lucie Pohl, at 11am Saturday).
There will be a number of talks to give historical depth to the festivities, including a star-studded (but sold-out) Saturday afternoon panel with comedy writing legends Alan Zweibel and Bill Scheft, among whom credits include Saturday Night Live, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show and Late Show with David Letterman. Other sold-out talks include a look at the entertainment legacy of the Catskills with author Will Friedwald and a halva-making workshop with cookbook author June Hersh.
Liz Alpern and Jeffrey Yoskowitz, co-founders of a popular Jewish food venture and book, will present an “Immigrant History of Food” that traces the Borscht Belt’s inimitable cuisine “From Pushcarts to Poolside”. That mouthwatering presentation will proceed at Market Street Studios at 4:30pm. Budding chefs and foodies will also want to check out the babka bake-off a few hours earlier at 2:45pm in Liberty Square.
Earlier risers can hit Market Street Studios on Saturday at 10:30am to see author and humorist Allen Frishman unclog tales of his family’s Catskills bungalow colonies and the plumbing business that literally kept the Borscht Belt’s plumbing humming. Brace yourself for a comedic whirl through Frishman’s madcap family escapades and his encounters with colorful Catskills characters. You can also get your hands on signed copies of his books, plumbing the depths of hilarity in Tales of a Catskills Mountain Plumber and More Borscht from a Catskills Mountain Plumber.
Join Elaine Freed Lindenblatt, the youngest progeny of the founder of the Red Apple Rest, on a flavorful journey back in time on Saturday at 12pm, also at Market Street Studios. As the storyteller of the iconic Route 17 eatery’s history from the 1930s to the 1980s in her book Stop at the Red Apple, Elaine offers a nostalgic feast; a trip down 1950s small-town America, a glimpse into the guts of a successful food venture, and a heartfelt homage to a bygone era of popular culture.
What would a cultural festival be without art? See the portrait paintings of Jewish icons that got Drew Friedman dubbed “Vermeer of the Borscht Belt” at Hunt Memorial Building. At the same gallery you’ll find Elise Pittelman’s “Painterly Homage to a Vanished World”. Pittelman transforms mundane moments of Catskills summer life into colorful tableaus resembling Japanese woodblock prints, using photographs and historical source material to render them with a cartoonish dynamism that embodies a joyous yet melancholic resonance.
View the work of the prolific outsider artist known as the “King of Schlock Art,” Morris Katz, at 119 Canal Street. Katz hung out in hotel lobbies making one-minute artworks for patrons, hundreds of which found their homes with Jewish families all over the region.
Somehow they managed to pack theater and film into this festival as well. Shadowland Stages hosts a production of Always… Patsy Cline at 8pm, honoring the country music legend’s unlikely letter-writing relationship with a fan. Performances occur on Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm, running until August 6. If the screen is more your scene, a free showing of Dirty Dancing will take over Main Street at 8:30pm on Saturday. Make sure to bring a blanket and extra points if you dress as your favorite character from the film.
The already-dizzying bill is rounded out by a full slate of street fair entertainment in Liberty Square, including award-winning caricature drawing by Robin Schwartzman and cover songs from The Rock Academy Showband (11:45am). Simon Sez caller extraordinaire Steve Max will do his best to trick you into moving at 12:30pm, followed by a hula hoop contest at 1pm. Then more music including The Shul Band (1:30), Patti Greco Sunshine (2:30pm), Isle of Klezbos (3:30pm) and The Truants (5pm).
For more information, visit borschtbeltfest.org.
Join the family! 
