Sunday Oct 20, 2:30 pm
From opera to book author presentations, cultural arts events are filling the calendar for children at the Simon Family JCC.
To kick off the children’s cultural arts season, the Virginia Opera will perform a scaled down, family friendly version of Jack and the Beanstalk at the JCC on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2:30 pm. The operetta travels to area community centers and schools. It opened last month at John Tyler Elementary School, where music teacher Marie Weber says, “Children are mesmerized by this performance. The three performers do a great job relating to children.”
After the Jack and the Beanstalk performance, the actor/singers will answer questions.
Other events in the JCC’s children’s cultural arts series include a performance by Virginia Stage Company on Feb. 23, and one on April 6 featuring the Virginia Symphony.
The Lee and Bernard Jaffe* Family Jewish Book Festival includes three children’s events this year. First, on Sunday, Nov. 3, author Jane Sutton presents Esther’s Hanukkah Disaster, a story about a well-meaning gorilla who buys silly gifts for her animal friends. Young ones (ages 4–9) will learn the real meaning of giving during Chanukah. On Sunday, Nov. 10, Leslie Kimmelman will share five short stories celebrating friendship and Jewish values (for ages 5–8). Finally, on Sunday, Nov. 17, a children’s event as part of the Global Day of Jewish Learning will take place. Parents can attend the adult book event and participate in other activities at the JCC while their children enjoy their own simultaneous activity.
The goal of these children’s events is to enrich the lives of these young community members in the hopes that they will support the arts in their future.
For additional information, visit the cultural arts page of the JCC website, www.SimonFamilyJCC.org or call 321-2338.
The Simon Family JCC is a constituent agency of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.
by Leslie Shroyer