Join us for the Opening Celebration of the fifth annual Chicago Sukkah Design Festival! Visitors will experience the new crop of unique sukkahs for the first time and learn more about the Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot. Over the course of the afternoon, attendees will enjoy food, art-making activities, participatory workshops, communal dance, and live music performances. Family friendly!
1:00–2:00 pm: Afrofuturist dance workshop, a participatory, communal experience led by Ytasha Womack, a critically acclaimed author, filmmaker, dancer, and champion of the imagination. Beats and grooves by DJ Shannon Harris.
2:15–3:00 pm: Tromblau &Friends performance and dancing. The Chicago music collective led by trombonist, composer, and DJ Emma Blau. The group blends original jazz, Jewish liturgical music, and Black American music traditions.
1:00–3:00 pm: Lulav Workshop with the Jewish Museum of Chicago (JMC). Take part in an experimental lulav creation workshop utilizing recycled materials and plants native to Illinois. Participants will be invited to assemble a “local lulav” made with native plants, such as corn husk (palm), autumn leaves (myrtle), pussy willow (willow), and pumpkin (etrog). JMC volunteers will guide participants in braiding or weaving the dried plants together, intentionally selecting decorative materials in a range of colors and textures, and creating a distilled sukkot narrative using foam core stamps on strips of muslin.
3:00–4:00 pm: Big Citi Band performance on the Boulevard.
4:00–5:00 pm: Cake Walk with Jaclyn Jacunski.