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If you have ever spent time in the Catskills, then you must not miss this film!

Featuring home movies, publicity photos, postcards, and menus, this time capsule provides an overview of Jewish immigration to New York going back to the early twentieth century. Director Lex Gillespie, maps the development of the vacation destination, from a refuge for working-class Jews seeking a respite from poverty in overcrowded New York City tenements to a lavish summer playground for the affluent.

The numerous resorts attracted Holocaust survivors as well as celebrities. Hostesses such as Jennie Grossinger of the famed Grossinger’s Hotel invited politicians and athletes. Nightclubs featured musicians and comics, often fostering new talent and supporting blacklisted artists during the height of McCarthyism. Perhaps most importantly, “the Sour Cream Sierras” became a place of resistance against antisemitic exclusion and a flourishing haven for Yiddishkeit.

This delightful film tracks the dramatic influx, peak, and decline of “the Jewish Alps.” From lox to herring, this celebration of Jewish-American life is all you can eat.

FREE to our 2024 Season Subscribers. Suggested donation of  $18 at the door (cash or check) for General Admission.