September 4, 2003
Rock ‘n’ Roll Rules at 2003 Valley Fest
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The 11th biannual Los Angeles Jewish Festival, co-sponsored by The Jewish Federation and a host of Jewish organizations, synagogues and corporate sponsors, promises an eclectic lineup of rock and rock hybrids.
The Main Stage, sponsored by Countrywide, will include rockers Rick Recht and RebbeSoul; the folk/reggae-tinged Moshav Band; Golem, a New York-based klezmer/rock collective; the comical pop music entourage, The Nudniks; and the Purim-inspired, Temple Ahavat Shalom-spawned amalgam Sgt. Schlepper's Purim Shpieler Band. The Los Angeles Jewish Symphony will also present excerpts from its upcoming "Symphony Sephardi."
The Family Stage, sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, will welcome children's entertainer Robbo; puppeteer Len Levitt; Emmy award-winning recording artist Dan Crow; and Ira Scott Levin, billed as "The Willy Wonka of Children's Music."
Among the activities offered at this year's festival: interactive exhibits from synagogues and social service groups; young adult pavilions; the Israel Extreme Challenge adventure game; jewelry and Judaica stands; and kiosks cooking up exotic kosher foods.
This year, organizers anticipate attracting more than 30,000 attendees.
The Los Angeles Jewish Festival, known until recently as the Valley Jewish Festival, originally began as the Exodus Festival to drum up support and awareness for the rescue of Soviet Jews, under the leadership of The Federation's Jewish Community Relations Committee.
The event will continue to underscore Jewish values with a SOVA canned-food drive. This year's social action theme, "World Jewry," emphasizes what needs to be done to help Jews in Israel, Argentina and Eastern Europe.
The festival's lead sponsors include the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, Laemmle Theatres, OPI, Western Bagel, Gelson's, Union Bank of California, Auto Stiegler and Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.
The Los Angeles Jewish Festival takes place on Sept. 7,
11 a.m.- 6 p.m., at Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka Ave., Woodland Hills. Free
admission. Parking $7. To get a $1 discount on parking and be eligible for a
drawing, bring a canned good/nonperishable donation for the SOVA Food Pantry.
For more information, call (818) 464-3230 or visit on the Web at www.lajewishfestival.org
