9:15pm JMWC KlezKanada Blog here. Departing from the usual announcements, JMWC is creating a week of blogging from the wonderful and beautiful setting of KlezKanada, where I’m on vacation this week. Amazingly, they have internet connection this year, so I thought those who wish could can read what I’m doing on my summer vacation for a change.

Lucky me, my husaband and I are here at KlezKanada, –Leaving Boston…traveling through New Hampshire, Vermont and the Canadian border… where it was a relief that the holdup was not too long… on through the Montreal traffic, through the Laurentians and here at Camp B’nai B’rith. KlezKanada is getting an early start this evening with a cabaret starting right off the bat –candlelit checkered tablecloths, the whole thing–with some young singers… , “Papiroisson” is being sung with Michael Winograd accompanying Rena Herman, –who has a nice voice is setting a great mood for the crowd. Now it’s a Yiddish sing-along. More performers from Toronto Mike Liebowitz on sax and the Crazy Klermer Machine. Cool, modern mixed with klezmer. The rain is keeping everyone inside, so it’s really crowded. It’s camp, so everyone is greeting old friends and familiar with every bump in the roads around the campsite. Variety show time. “Rumania, Rumania” and the night begins to get a bit more with it. A clarinet medley…That’s the first 30 minutes. I guess it’s going to be a great week of fun and lots of great Yiddish music. These Yiddish camps (there’s also KlezKamp in the States, and Yiddishvokh) are about as close as you get to Yiddishland nowadays come alive with music, art, dance, crafts, literature, theater and plenty for the family to do. Now I’m hearing “Die Mame Iz Gegangen” with clarinet and banjo…

So I’m sitting here with Carolyn Shaffer from Montreal and she plays accordian. It’s her fourth time her at KlezKanada… she’s absolutely loves it, Carolyn tells me: “it’s huge thing in my life, it’s so inspiring, I’ve learned so much. Four years ago I was a beginner and I learned a lot and it’s my entry into the music. Now I’m in a girl Yiddish band called the “Yiddenes”. We got our name her at KlezKanada. Someone told us this word, “yiddene”, which means Jewess, and we loved it so we adopted the name for our band. It has a kind of connotation of someone bossy, but we’re reclaiming the word as something positive… It’s really something special to play in an all female Klezmerband.”

Another band is playing German Goldenshteyn’s songs…

You can find out more about the camp and the activities here at www.klezkanada.com.