{"id":46919,"date":"2025-06-13T01:47:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T08:47:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=46919"},"modified":"2025-06-12T09:30:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T16:30:04","slug":"a-tour-with-extra-pep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2025\/06\/13\/a-tour-with-extra-pep\/","title":{"rendered":"A tour with extra pep"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elana Wenner (with folder) leads the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia walking tour of Jewish Strathcona. <\/i>(photo from JMABC)<\/i><\/p>\n

Having taken the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia\u2019s tour of Jewish Strathcona, I know firsthand how interesting and worthwhile it is. This summer, there will be a little more swing to the July 27 tour \u2013 Kol Halev Performance Society will once again take part, but in an expanded role.<\/p>\n

\u201cKol Halev has created a script for theatrical additions to the tour, along with musical components. Actors in full period costume will accompany the group and act out key scenes from the stories told along the way,\u201d Elana Wenner, director of programming and development at the museum, told the Independent<\/i>. \u201cA full musical dance number is included as well, along with a reenactment of a wedding that mirrors cultural traditions from the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wenner got in touch with Sue Cohene, co-founder and current president of Kol Halev, after having taken some theatrical tours produced by other museums in the city and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past,\u201d said Wenner, \u201cKol Halev has put on productions based on BC Jewish history in conjunction with JMABC, before I worked here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKol Halev has been involved with the Jewish Museum since 2006, performing at their various galas and special events over the years,\u201d Cohene explained. \u201cIn 2017, the museum created a photographic exhibit, shown alongside Kol Halev\u2019s historically based play, Two Views from the Sylvia<\/i>, which was presented at the Waterfront Theatre.<\/p>\n

\u201cKol Halev Performance Society and the Jewish Museum and Archives have a long-standing collaboration and we update the museum on a regular basis about our shows, community teachings and future plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

A couple of years ago, said Cohene, Marcy Babins, interim executive director of the museum, suggested that she meet with Wenner, then the newly appointed director of programming and development, to discuss possible joint ventures.<\/p>\n

\u201cConnecting with Elana has been like carrying on a family tradition,\u201d said Cohene. \u201cElana\u2019s grandmother, Irene Dodek, was instrumental, along with Dr. Rabbi Yosef Wosk, in bringing Kol Halev on board to provide entertainment and theatrical historical education for Jewish Museum projects. Elana\u2019s mother, Dr. Gail Wenner, has danced with Kol Halev and continues to share her creativity by creating historically influenced hats for our performers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last summer, Kol Halev added a Yiddish dance performance to complement one of Wenner\u2019s Jewish Strathcona walking tours. This summer, actors from the performance group will portray early Jewish community leaders during the tour, in addition to weaving in some traditional dance pieces.<\/p>\n

Cathy Moss, one of Kol Halev\u2019s main writers since the group was established, worked with the research provided by Wenner to create a script.<\/p>\n

\u201cElana shared the tour route and basic information about Strathcona historical community leaders from the early 1900s to the 1940s,\u201d said Cohene. \u201cShe kindly led Kol Halev on the tour, where we all looked at locations that could accommodate acting and dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cElana did a great job compiling the research on the area,\u201d said Moss. \u201cOnce I took the tour, it was easy to see what a compelling cast of characters inhabited Strathcona in the early days. It was fun to write dialogue for such interesting and lively folks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moss relied on the museum\u2019s material for each location along the tour, writing the dialogue for the characters based on the biographical details and context Wenner provided.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tour is great and informative on its own,\u201d said Moss. \u201cI would add that inviting Kol Halev to be part of it was an excellent idea. It adds another dimension that makes the experience that much more enjoyable. The wedding dance in particular will be appreciated by the tour-takers. It\u2019s very entertaining.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Kol Halev rehearses the Patsh dance, choreographed by Santa Aloi. The group will dance and act in the July 27 JMABC Strathcona walking tour. (photo by Adam Abrams)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kol Halev has several on-site rehearsals planned before the shows in which they\u2019re participating \u2013 the July 27 public tour and a private tour in late June \u2013 \u201cparticularly to familiarize dancers and actors who were not involved last year,\u201d said Cohene.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will have between eight and 10 dancers this summer and a few actors,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a small working production that has room to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cohene will be part of the performances.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be playing a mother-in-law role in the 1940s wedding dance, which was choreographed by Tamara Thompson Levi,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ll also tap dance in the Yiddish Patsh dance choreographed by Santa Aloi.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wenner leads the Strathcona walking tours.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tour is a journey through the footsteps and choices made by the first community leaders in Vancouver,\u201d she said. \u201cIt follows in the footsteps of community-building, highlighting the institutions and people who laid the groundwork for today\u2019s thriving Jewish Vancouver institutions. Along the way, we see buildings that held components of the first Jewish community organizations, as well as the homes of some of the first leaders. We also explore the ideas of what Jewish community requires in general, and what it was like to live as a Jew in this part of the world at the turn of the last century. The tour is a synthesis of past and present, weaving together the origins and future of Vancouver\u2019s Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jewish Museum has four different walking tours on offer this summer. In addition to the Strathcona neighbourhood tours led by Wenner on July 13 and 27, Aug. 10 and 24, Daniella Givon leads tours of the Mountain View Jewish Cemetery on July 6 and Aug. 10. In Victoria, Amber Woods leads both the Downtown (July 6 and Aug. 10) and Jewish cemetery (July 20 and Aug. 24) tours. All the walks start at 10:30 a.m. For tickets, visit jewishmuseum.ca<\/a>, email info@jewishmuseum.ca<\/a> or call 604-257-5199.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elana Wenner (with folder) leads the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia walking tour of Jewish Strathcona. (photo from JMABC) Having taken the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia\u2019s tour of Jewish Strathcona, I know firsthand how interesting and worthwhile it is. This summer, there will be a little more swing to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20057,24110,3119,1647,4242,5969,130,3901,8817,7494],"class_list":["post-46919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-acting","tag-cathy-moss","tag-dance","tag-elana-wenner","tag-history","tag-jewish-museum-and-archives-of-bc","tag-jmabc","tag-kol-halev","tag-strathcona","tag-sue-cohene"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}