The Katz JCC’s 32nd annual Festival of Arts, Books and Culture, will be held Nov. 4-14, 2021, and will include an exciting and engaging lineup of authors, personalities, public figures, and artists. Tickets are now on sale and all events are open to the community. Israeli historian, novelist and politician Michael Bar Zohar returns to the Festival on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. to discuss his new book “The Mossad Amazons: The Amazing Women in the Israeli Secret Service,” which chronicles the turbulent lives, loves and perilous missions of the greatest Mossad female Israel Secret Service warriors. For many years, the activities of the Mossad were highly classified, but the veil of secrecy has finally been lifted.
CNN’s Jake Tapper will visit the Festival on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. with his new novel, ‘The Devil May Dance.” Charlie and Margaret Marder, political stars in 1960s Washington D.C., return in Tapper’s new book and know all too well how the tangled web of power in the nation’s capital can operate. But while they long to settle into the comforts of home, Attorney General Robert Kennedy has other plans. He needs them to look into a potential threat not only to the presidency, but to the security of the United States itself.
Social media sensation and recipe book mogul Jake Cohen will visit the JCC on Monday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m. and share insight behind his hit cookbook, “Jew-ish,” in which Cohen has reinvented the food of his Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, merged with inspiration from his husband’s Persian-Iraqi traditions that have resulted in modern, fresh recipes for a new generation. New York Times best-selling author Annabelle Gurwitch will enthrall readers when she visits the Festival on Monday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. with her new book “You’re Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility,” a timely and hilarious chronicle which gives an empathetic voice to a generation hurtling into their next chapter with no safety net.
The Festival’s Saturday night entertainment has been brought to a new level this year, times two, thanks to Low Cut Connie and NY/NY Dueling Pianos. Rock band Low Cut Connie will perform on Saturday, Nov. 6 with upbeat tracks from their 2020 album “Private Lives,” which earned a place on Rolling Stone’s “50 Best Albums of 2020” list. On Saturday, Nov. 13, NY/NY Dueling Pianos will bring part rock show, part comedy show and all sorts of craziness rolled into one big party in their audience, request-driven sing-along dance-along performance.
Saturday Night Live alum Laraine Newman is back with her new audiobook “May You Live in Interesting Times” and will close out the Festival on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. Her life and experiences seem to have been on the forefront of every pop culture shift in America, from the British invasion and the music scene in Los Angeles to the beginning of The Comedy Store.
Other featured speakers this year include Pam Jenoff (Nov. 11), Mitchell James Kaplan (November 7), Heather Cabot (Nov. 10), artist Smadar Livne (Nov. 8) and Adam Weiner of Low Cut Connie (Nov. 6). Many of this year’s speakers at this year’s Festival will present to our audiences in-person and some will attend on their scheduled date virtually. Festival attendees will have the choice to attend events in-person or virtually, and for those who attend via the comforts of home, viewing information for each event will be sent to ticket holders both 24 hours and 1 hour in advance of the scheduled date and time of each speaker. All speaker details will be outlined on katzjcc.org/abcfest.
Tickets are on sale now at www.katzjcc.org/abcfest, or by calling Matthew Lever at ext. 1247 For more information about the Festival, please contact Shonnie Lebovitz at [email protected].
