A “Build Your Own Seder” station will give families the chance to combine traditional and modern customs for their Passover meal.
BY COLIN MIXSON
Just when you thought Passover couldn’t get any better.
Observers of the Jewish holiday will have the unique opportunity to re-imagine the sacred festival at “Matzapalooza,” an event being held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City on Apr. 10.
The palooza of matzo will feature music, crafts, and classes for kids and adults, all designed endow Passover partygoers with the tips and tricks they need to craft the Seder festival of their dreams.
“We’re giving people the tools to make their own family Seder special and unique,” said Motl Didner, associate artistic director at the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene, which is pitching in to help organize the event.
This event is presented in partnership with the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and the Workmen’s Circle.
The Hebrew heritage hoedown takes its inspiration from Passover trends spanning the last few decades, in which revelers have riffed on the standard Maxwell House Haggadah — a sort of how-to manual explaining the story of Passover and how to organize your Seder Plate — in an effort to modernize the ancient festival, according to Didner.
“Most people grew up with the Maxwell House Haggadah, the book you use to guide you through the Passover Seder,” he said. “But within the last 20 or 30 years, we’re seeing more variance — a tradition of Haggadah that embraces different points of view.”
Furthermore, Didner cited the recent “foodie revolution,” with zesty new variations on traditional kosher dishes, in leading Jewish families to experiment with new ways of doing the Seder.
“Now we’re in the midst of a foodie revolution, which includes kosher and seasonal food products, so we’re bringing that all together,” he said.
Matzapalooza will kick off at 10:30 a.m. with activities geared towards kids, including crafting stations, where children can create anything from custom Seder plates and matzo covers, to plague puppets fashioned in the image of the various plagues God visited upon the land of the pharaoh, such as frogs and locusts.
Starting at noon, the event shifts gears and will begin featuring workshops for grown-ups, including classes on how to build your own “modern” Seder menu. Various vendors will also be on hand offering Kosher foods, and include Acme Smoked Fish, Brooklyn Seltzer Boys, Danny Macaroons, Fox’s U-Bet, Gefilteria, Holy Schmitt’s, and Horman’s Best Pickles.
Throughout the day, ticket holders will be treated to music courtesy of the Folksbiene Youth Academy Ensemble, and will have the opportunity to take family tours through the museum’s core exhibition.
Matzapalooza, Sunday Apr. 10, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl. Tickets are $8 per person, free for children and grandchildren of MJH/WC/NYTF members. For details and tickets, visit www.mjhnyc.org/diyseder or call 646-437-4202.
