By Anna Gustafson
The 20th annual “Jewish Music Under the Stars” concert series in Cunningham Park will give residents a much-needed break from the financial woes that have plagued borough families, Queens Jewish Community Council Executive Director Cynthia Zalisky said.
The QJCC in Forest Hills and the Margaret Tietz Nursing & Rehabilitation Center are helping to sponsor the free concerts that will be held Aug. 12, Aug. 19 and Aug. 26 in Fresh Meadows’ Cunningham Park. The musical events will begin at 7 p.m. and end around 9 p.m.
“It’s a chance to enjoy summer evenings free of charge, and in this economic climate that’s even more important,” Zalisky said. “People need a respite from the problems of these days.”
The concert is open to anyone, and Zalisky said she expects people of all ages and cultures to attend. She said the music will give people a chance to temporarily leave behind the financial problems that Zalisky said have especially hit Jewish families hard.
The QJCC has seen an approximate 30 percent increase in the number of people it serves. The group had about 10,000 clients last year, and Zalisky expects that number to be around 13,000 this year.
“We are seeing people who would’ve never come to us before,” Zalisky said. “There’s a lot of families, people who have just lost their jobs. A lot more people are coming to us about food stamps and for the food pantry.”
The QJCC announced this week the concerts in the series would include a Bukharian International Festival Aug. 12, a Workman Circle Yiddish Fest Aug. 19 and a family entertainment night Aug. 26.
Mike Burstyn, a Broadway performer, will headline the Workman Circle Yiddish Fest, and Yehuda, a Jewish musical star who has performed throughout the world, will be part of the Aug. 26 concert.
The concert has evolved since its inception two decades ago, and Zalisky said the QJCC now reaches out to the growing Jewish immigrant community — which is, for example, why they are having the Bukharian International Festival.
Bukharian Jews primarily come from Central Asia, and following the breakup of the former Soviet Union, found themselves confronting economic decline and civil unrest. According to the United Jewish Appeal Federation of New York, many of the world’s 250,000 Bukharian Jews left Central Asia for places like Israel and the United States, with some 40,000 now living in Forest Hills and Rego Park.
“The concert has grown more popular, and we’ve really responded to the changing demographics,” Zalisky said. “There’s something for everybody in this concert, for the immigrant community, for the seniors, for the young families.”
City Councilmen James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) and David Weprin (D-Hollis), Borough President Helen Marshall’s office and the Queens Council on the Arts are also helping to sponsor the concerts.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 174.
