March 30, 2023 – 7:00 pm – 8:30 PM/strong>
They’re baaaaaack! The Maine Jewish Museum is thrilled to once again host the inimitable DaPonte String Quartet after a two-year pandemic hiatus. The March “Concert Series 2” (with guest artist Byron Wallis, violin) features the Mozart Quartet in D Major, the K575, the Webern Fünf Sätze [Five Movements], and the Brahms String Quartet Opys 51, No.1 in C Minor.
Please join us for this exciting and enjoyable program. For tickets, go to www.dapontequartet.org.
Tuesday, April 18 2023 10:00 – 11:30 AM
Bookworms take note: the Portland Hadassah Book Group has combined forces with the Maine Jewish Museum! This month, we will be discussing The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht (fyi: a film adaption of the book was created in 2019, and the DVD is available at the Portland Public Library or via live streaming; there are also several excerpts available for viewing on YouTube). Join fellow bibliophiles for lively discourse and warm camaraderie!
April 20 2023 7:00 – 8:00 PM
The Maine Jewish Museum is proud to be collaborating with Hole in the Head Review to host quarterly poetry readings at the Museum.
Two acclaimed Maine poets, Betsy Sholl and Mimi White, will be the featured April readers.
May 4 – 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Mingle with artists and art lovers, enjoy wine and cheese with museum mavens and curious minds, and celebrate with us as we unveil our newest exhibitions!
May 21 2023 – 3:00 – 6:00 PM
The Maine Jewish Hall of Fame was created in 2018 to bestow recognition on outstanding Jewish leaders from throughout the state who have brought distinction and honor to the State of Maine or beyond.
May 25, 2023 -7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
They’re baaaaaack! The Maine Jewish Museum is thrilled to once again host the inimitable DaPonte String Quartet after a two-year pandemic hiatus. Program and guest TBD.
Please join us for this exciting and enjoyable program. For tickets, go to www.dapontequartet.org.
June 5, 2023 6:30-8 PM
Music can speak in ways that words alone do not.
Just think of the first concert you ever went to. Or that angsty band you discovered in tenth grade that blew your mind and changed your life . . . or at least it gave you a soundtrack that, when you hear it today, brings you back to those exact experiences.This is true even of music with lyrics: a song will take you to places an essay seldom could.
That’s why The Maine Jewish Museum and Chabad of Maine are delighted to present JUDAISM: THE SOUNDTRACK, a musical experience exploring the “nigun,” or Chasidic melody, beyond its soulful sound. As Rabbi Shneur Zalman, founder of Chabad Chasidic philosophy, taught: “Music is the pen of the soul.” Come and listen to the story of your soul in its own words, to the feelings—of love or longing, of devotion or despair—that express the complicated relationship between a spiritual soul and a material world.
This will be ninety minutes of pure delight, featuring:
· Rousing music
· Inspiring visual accompaniment
· Meditative commentary
· High-caliber production
· Light refreshments
· A commemorative playbill ”
August 10 2023 7 PM – 10pm
In alignment with our mission to “celebrate and honor Maine’s Jewish immigrants in the context of the American experience” and to “build bridges of appreciation and understanding with people of all backgrounds,” we are proud to showcase Maine Jewish, immigrant, and BIPOC fashion designers and models in our first-ever Fashion Show Fundraiser!
A Generative Workshop and Reading with Meghan Sterling
Thursday, August 17th
6-8:30 PM
$25/ticket – registration info. coming soon!
How does our cultural identity influence our lives? Our art? Our ability to parent? How do we preserve the memory of our ancestors while living modern lives? In this workshop, poet Meghan Sterling will work with participants to craft poems drawing from their heritage, their cultural identity and their questions about what it all means. Learn about how poetry can help us claim and honor ours and our families’ pasts without brushing the hardships under the rug. Bring a family photo (or two) and/or an object that brings up a memory of your heritage.
After the workshop, Sterling will read from her recent collections, View from a Borrowed Field (Paul Nemser Poetry Prize Winner, Lily Poetry Review, 2023), Self-Portrait with Ghosts of the Diaspora (Harbor Editions, 2023) and Comfort the Mourners (Everybody Press, 2023).
On the first Friday evening of every month, from 5-8PM the city’s artists,galleries, and arts venues (including MJM!) open up their doors for Portland’s First Friday Art Walk.