sy
al
THIS PHOTO: Cheese
gets drained. RIGHT:
Sue Salinger, direc-
tor of Hazon in
Detroit, with Judith
Belasco, Hazon
executive vice
president.
PazMan SuperSession
Long-time Detroit bluesman
Mark Pasman leads this super
group of area musicians.
Pasman is an award-winning
musician and had a long
career as a radio broadcaster,
hosting the Motor City Blues
Project on WCSX-FM for more
than 25 years. This iteration
of the SuperSession includes
what Pasman calls a “Jewish
guitar triumvirate,” featuring
musicians from Uncle Kracker,
Mitch Ryder’s band and rhythm players who have backed
Betty LaVette. The PazMan SuperSession starts at 2 p.m.
Ojore Olugbala of Nurturing Our Seeds
charms shoppers.
“Moms Across America is
a natural fit for the Michigan
Jewish Food Festival,” says Illana
Stern, the organization’s region-
al leader. “We are working to
move people toward supporting
organic and local farming and
essentially moving away from
chemical industrial agriculture
that is causing so much harm to
our bodies and planet.”
Moms Across America will
have a booth at the festival with
kids’ activities and information
on how people can improve
their health through the way
they eat.
Younger attendees will have
plenty to do as well. The kids’
tent will feature activities based
around sensory experiences.
The Detroit Waldorf School is
also leading children in activi-
ties including wheat grinding,
making origami hats and weav-
ing friendship bracelets.
Since it is a Jewish food fes-
tival, organizers have worked
with food vendors to provide
many kosher options as well
as non-kosher. Some vendors
and food trucks will have large
balloons on display indicating
their kosher certification and
through which organization
they are certified.
“Because we include every-
Emily Paster
body, we make sure that it’s
identified where products are
kosher. So, we not only have
food vendors and trucks that
are kosher, we also have some
people that are selling kosher
prepared food,” Schloss says.
Eastern Market Corporation
is working with Hazon to pro-
vide a kosher kitchen for the
day as well.
“We really wanted to make
sure the Orthodox community
didn’t feel like ‘what’s there for
me?’” Schloss says. “We make it
a point and it’s really an impor-
tant part for us and what we
do to have that Vaad [kosher
supervision] connection to the
kitchen so everyone can eat and
know that it’s supervised.”
That spirit of inclusivity goes
beyond Jewish attendees. One
of Hazon’s principals is to help
improve Detroit’s neighbor-
hoods in its programming.
Several featured speakers will
discuss the food movement and
food security issues in Detroit.
Salinger says one of Hazon’s
missions is to bring the Jewish
community into relation-
ship with Detroit’s leadership.
Hazon’s volunteer committee
and board include some of the
city’s leaders.
There will also be interfaith
groups represented at the fes-
tival. The Michigan chapter of
Interfaith Power and Light will
be returning for a third year.
The nonprofit group advocates
for a religious response to the
threats of global warming and
climate change. Leah Wiste
is the organization’s director
of outreach and advocacy in
Michigan.
“Each year we’ve gone, the
event has had a really impres-
sive turnout and has had a con-
vivial atmosphere. Some folks
who stop by and chat already
see caring for the Earth as a
part of their religious identity;
for others the concept is totally
new,” Wiste says.
Salinger says the festival is all
about community.
“Hazon is really about col-
laboration and capacity build-
ing. So we are really trying to
build up and work with and
lift up everyone. We built this
as a grassroots event,” Salinger
says. “We frequently quote our
teacher Reb Zalman Schachter-
Shalomi in his saying ‘the only
way we’re going to get it togeth-
er is together,’ and we’ve really
got to get it together, so we’re
going to be together.” •
Emily Paster is one of the
Michigan Jewish Food
Festival’s featured guest
chefs — she will discuss
“Jewish Preserving in
Action: Turning Matbucha
into Shakshuka.” Paster will demonstrate how to make matbu-
cha, a Moroccan Sephardic dish made from tomatoes and bell
peppers, which can be preserved and then turned into Israeli
shakshuka any time of the year. Paster
shaksh
is the author of two cookbooks, includ-
ing F Food Swap and The Joys of Jewish
Preserving, and creator of the family-
Pres
oriented food blog West of the Loop.
orie
Paster travels the country speaking
Pa
about garden-to-table cooking, can-
ab
n ning (above) and fermentation. Emily
Paster’s demonstration starts at
11:30 a.m. in Shed 5.
Rabbi Moshe Givental
Rabbi Moshe Givental has a message to share. Givental saw
the political climate in the country grow increasingly toxic
in recent years. In an act of nonviolent protest, Givental
decided to walk from Boston to Detroit, specifically to raise
awareness about environmental justice. Stopping to talk
with and listen to regular Americans, the rabbi is trying
to start a dialogue about the destruction of the environ-
ment and climate change. In “Walking to Listen: Boston to
Detroit,” Givental will share his experience at the Michigan
Jewish Food Festival’s 10-mintue talk tent. A question and
answer session will follow.
jn
August 16 • 2018
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