AMHERST, Massachusetts–The Yiddish Book Center has announced it will begin its phased reopening on Thursday, June 24. The Center will be open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays, and Mondays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The Center is home to the world’s first Yiddish museum. Designed to recall a shtetl, it is set on a 10-acre apple orchard at the edge of the campus of Hampshire College adjacent to the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts.

The visiting exhibit by NYC-based, multimedia artist Steve Marcus comprises two connected exhibits. Through the Hat includes wood-carved objects that seamlessly weave together Marcus’ childhood memories of bagels and bialys, pickles and green tomatoes from the barrel, and paper-wrapped whitefish chubs with his personal journey and passion for his own roots and culture. The Golden Medina expands on this series, welcoming the viewer deeper into Marcus’ world of contemporary kosher folk art through humorous depictions of everyday Jewish life that communicate wisdom from Yiddish proverbs. The exhibit will be on view at the Center through fall 2021.

Since closing its doors to the public on March 12, 2020, due to the pandemic, the Yiddish Book Center has been and will continue to offer an ongoing series of free virtual public programs. 

Its annual YIDSTOCK: The Festival of New Yiddish Music will be presented as a 75-minute, pre-recorded, virtual program on July 11, 2021. The Center’s English-language Museum Store, which can be accessed online through its website, will also be open for in-person shoppers beginning June 24.

The Center has new visitor protocols in place, and visitors must follow the most current Massachusetts travel guidelines. All visitors will be required to wear face masks while in the Center and to adhere to social distancing requirements. A self-guided audio tour will be available.

Suggested donation: $8/adults; $6/seniors; FREE/members, students, and children. 

For information and to view the events calendar, visit yiddishbookcenter.org.