Shames JCC

Dead Meat: A Grateful Dead Tribute Band
2025-12-12 19:30 - 22:00 (America/New_York)
Members: $30; non-members: $36
Jam out to this electrifying Grateful Dead tribute band.
Dead heads and friends: don’t miss this fan favorite, known for their moving harmonies and high-energy blocks of music. The band’s unique renditions of timeless classics make them a must see. Cash bar will be open; tickets get you one free drink (beer/wine/canned cocktail/soft drink).

Tech Angels
2025-12-14 10:00 - 12:00, 2025-12-28 10:00 - 12:00
Every other Sunday
Drop in—no registration required.
Having trouble with your iPhone, Android, tablet, or laptop? Struggle with email, texting, apps, Zoom, or technology in general? Bring your device and your questions to the J and savvy volunteers from Irvington High School will help you at no cost!

Kibbutz Life: Past, Present, and Personal Reflections
2025-12-15 10:00 - 11:30
FREE for members; $10 for non-members
The events of October 7th have brought renewed attention to life in kibbutz communities. This conversation explores kibbutz life from past to present, examining the role of Zionist ideals and worldviews in shaping daily life, values, and community structures. It also highlights the kibbutz’s enduring traditions, communal practices, and the legacy that continues to define life today.
About the presenter: Hila is a Senior Community Shlicha (emissary) for Westchester, NY and the Director of the Westchester Israeli Emissaries in Westchester. In this role, she works to strengthen the relationship between Israel and local Jewish communities, fostering meaningful connections through education, dialogue, and cultural engagement.
Hila has dedicated her career to building bridges between Jewish communities in Israel and abroad. She holds a master’s degree in Jewish-American and Israeli Relations and a Bachelor’s degree in Geography and Israel Studies, both from the University of Haifa. Hila and her family live in Kibbutz Ein Hashofet in Israel.

Latkes on The Hudson
2025-12-15 10:00 - 14:00
FREE, drop in when you can.
Chef Amy Pane and Rabbi Ron Symons can’t wait to wish you a Hanukkah full of light, potatoes, sour cream, and apple sauce. Chef Amy will prepare special toppings for our latkes and Rabbi Ron will share some innovative ways to celebrate Hanukkah

Hanukkah Craft Pop-Up
2025-12-15 15:00 - 17:00
Drop in, no registration
Brings your kids to celebrate the season with a creative, hands-on craft with Rabbi Ron and Jill Rosenblum!

Community Hanukkah Candle Lighting
2025-12-15 17:00 - 17:45
FREE for members & non-members
Let’s celebrate the festival of lights in community! Come light the menorah, eat latkes, and enjoy music and activities with your family and friends. Rabbi Ron Symons and Rabbi Mara Young from Woodlands Community Temple will help us to lead the festivities; you might even see some familiar faces from River Friends and J Sports Academy! We welcome all community members no matter your age nor faith background.

Cumbia for All: Music Workshop with Urbano NYC (Inclusive* Event)
2025-12-16 11:00 - 12:00
FREE for members & non-members
Ages 16+
Join Pablo and Anna Mayor of Folklore Urbano NYC for a fun and unique music experience! Participants will move to the beat and sing music inspired by the diverse traditions of Colombia, including the well known rhythm of “Cumbia!”
*Inclusive classes and events at the J are specifically designed and implemented to ensure individuals with or without disabilities can participate fully. The goal of these classes is to ensure all participants have the opportunity to foster community, learn new skills, and have fun!

Third Act Circle: A Peer Support Group
2025-12-16 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-12-30 12:00 - 13:00
FREE for members and non-members
Those experiencing the stage of life referred to as “the third act” are invited to come together to talk, laugh, share stories, and support one another through life’s ups and downs. Whether you’re navigating retirement, dealing with health changes, coping with loss, or just looking to connect with others in a similar life stage, this group offers a place where you can feel heard and understood. Facilitated by Rena, the focus is on encouragement and community.

Verve Book Club: “Take My Hand” by Dolen Perkin-Valez
2025-12-17 11:30 - 13:00
FREE for members & non-members
Inspired by true events, this powerful novel follows Civil Townsend, a young nurse in 1970s Alabama, whose new job at a family planning clinic leads her to uncover injustices that will change the course of her life—and others’—forever. It’s a moving story about courage, accountability, and the fight for dignity.

Group Outing to Jacob Burns Film Center: “Yentl”
2025-12-17 13:00 - 17:00
Members: $15; non-members: $20; incl. r/t transportation
Jacob Burns Film Center, 364 Manville Rd, Pleasantville, NY 10570
Bus leaves the JCC at 12:15 pm and returns at 5:0 pm—you may also self-drive
Barbra Streisand’s Academy Award-winning film Yentl (1983), based on an Isaac Bashevis Singer story, follows a young woman in 19th-century Poland who disguises herself as a man to study the Talmud at a yeshiva. She falls in love with a man engaged to another woman, and must decide between keeping her secret or pursuing a forbidden romance. Yentl is a beloved, critically acclaimed American musical and a standout achievement in Streisand’s career.
After the movie, we’ll head across the street to Root 2 Rise for a late lunch or coffee (participants pay on their own). See trailer here.

Latkes with a Twist: Cooking Class
2025-12-17 14:00 - 15:00
FREE for members & non-members
Chef Amy Pane will show us how to add a twist to our old school latke recipe assumptions through culinary demonstration and tasting. While the latkes are cooking, Rabbi Ron Symons will lead a discussion on the significance of this traditional food and the fallacy behind it.

Challah and Conversation: Light It Up!
2025-12-19 09:30 - 10:30
FREE for members & non-members
Have you ever wondered why so many milestones in our lives and on our calendar incorporate vast amounts of light? Rabbi Ron Symons will help us uncover the power of light in our spirituality, emotional well-being, communal celebrations, and so much more. There might even be some chocolate Hanukkah gelt to share.

Sensory Swim Night
2025-12-19 18:00 - 19:30
FREE for members: $20 for non-members
Join us for Sensory-Friendly Swim Night, a calm and inclusive pool experience designed for individuals with sensory sensitivities and their families. Enjoy less noise, and smaller crowds in a relaxed, supportive environment. Splash, play, and unwind at your own pace!

Hanukkah: A Festival of Laser Lights
2025-12-20 16:30 - 18:00
Members: $10; non-members: $16
Experience the story of Hanukkah like never before with a laser light show! With fog, duel of light beams, lighting effects, and a giant menorah lighting you’ll never forget, all ages will be mesmerized!
This performance is brought to you by Wondergy; never scripted, audience-driven science entertainment. Wondergy began in 2002 in Philadelphia, PA and has grown into a science-tainment industry titan, creating educational experiences that are engaging, inspiring, and unforgettable.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Personal and Historical Account
2026-01-05 10:00 - 11:30
FREE for members; $10 for non-members
Jess Velona, who was an appellate law clerk for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, will mix personal stories from his work with video clips to show how Ginsburg never fit into anyone’s mold. A quiet, unassuming person, she became a pioneer for women in the legal profession and the top advocate for women’s constitutional rights. And yet, while supportive of Roe v. Wade, she urged that abortion rights be anchored in something sturdier than privacy—advice that liberals ignored to the detriment. Come hear an insider’s perspective of the woman whose career spanned being a moderate, consensus-building federal appellate judge to the “Notorious RBG,” a liberal icon known for her passionate dissenting opinions.

JCCU: Comparative African Modern Art—Sources of Modern Art
2026-01-06 13:00 - 14:30
Members: $15; non-members: $20 for the series (drop ins also welcome)
Art historian Serdar Arat is back with a two-part lecture series that looks at how African and African-diasporic artists helped shape modern art around the world. We’ll explore the Harlem Renaissance alongside European modernists to see how artists learned from one another and pushed new styles forward. We’ll also look at global traditions that inspired Western art in the 19th and 20th centuries. These talks offer an accessible, visually rich look at how cultures connect and influence each other through art.
This session: Western art rejuvenated itself with a series of stylistic inventions in the 19th and 20th centuries, breaking free of many of its historical traditions and arriving at Modernism. This was an unprecedented time of opening up to and mining of world art. We will explore these sources of inspiration through a comparative experience with vividly detailed images.

JCC Book Club: "Broken Country" by Clare Leslie Hall
2026-01-06 19:00 - 20:15
FREE for members & non-members
Join us to explore this powerful novel about characters struggling to adapt to a changing world, where traditional farming is no longer viable and corporations threaten their way of life. Amid personal loss and environmental decay, they must navigate the challenges of community, survival, and resistance.

Hot Topics: New Years Hopes
2026-01-07 11:30 - 13:00
FREE for members & non-members
Discuss the month’s social and political issues with your fellow news enthusiasts. With timely and changing international, national, and local issues from the news arenas of government, arts, sports, science, and religion, we welcome all participants to voice their ideas. All points of view are welcome in this lively, thought-provoking, and civil discussion. Feel free to bring your lunch and/or a friend!

“Sesame Street” Sing-A-Long Show with Alan
2026-01-10 10:00 - 12:00
Children under 2: Free; children under 6: $10
Members: $15; non-members: $20
Join Alan Muraoka—who has played “Alan,” the proprietor of Hooper’s Store on “Sesame Street” for the past 27 years—for a special sing-a-long for children of all ages. He, along with “Sesame Street” puppeteers Jennifer Barnhart and Jake Bazel, will dazzle kids with interactive content, storytelling, and well-known “Sesame Street” songs. The show will end with a meet and greet and photo opp session with Alan and the puppeteers!

Let’s Go Trivia!
2026-01-10 19:00 - 22:00
FREE for members & non-members
Grab some friends to create the fiercest trivia team of all time for the inaugural Trivia Night at The Ark! The bar will be open to keep you extra sharp—or your opponents fuzzy!—for this fact-packed night of fun with host Garry Leavy of Let’s Go Trivia! Win prizes, have fun and make memories!

JCCU: Comparative African Modern Art—The Harlem Renaissance and Modernism
2026-01-13 13:00 - 14:30
Members: $15; non-members: $20 for the series (drop ins also welcome)
Art historian Serdar Arat is back with a two-part lecture series that looks at how African and African-diasporic artists helped shape modern art around the world. We’ll explore the Harlem Renaissance alongside European modernists to see how artists learned from one another and pushed new styles forward. We’ll also look at global traditions that inspired Western art in the 19th and 20th centuries. These talks offer an accessible, visually rich look at how cultures connect and influence each other through art.
This session:Referencing Metropolitan Museum’s groundbreaking exhibition, “The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism,” we will explore the masterworks of major Harlem Renaissance artists including Jacob Lawrence, Agusta Savage, Archibald Motley, and others, in dialogue with their European counterparts such as Picasso, Braque, and Gaugin. We will compare and analyze American and European, realistic and abstract, and traditional and modern art.

MLK Day of Service—Blanket and Book Bundles (Session 1)
2026-01-19 10:00 - 11:30
FREE for members & non-members
In honor of the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and in partnership with St. Barnabas Church and Irvington Presbyterian Church, we will be making no-sew blankets and bundling them with books, hot chocolate mix, and a mug to bring joy to young English language learners in our community. All ages welcome!

MLK Day of Service—Blanket and Book Bundles (Session 2)
2026-01-19 13:00 - 14:30

An Evening with Comedian & Musician Dave Hill
2026-01-23 19:00 - 21:30
Students: $18; members: $30; non-members: $36
Start your weekend cracking up with Dave Hill—comedian, writer, musician, actor, radio host, and man-about-town. Dave—who has appeared on numerous hit shows including The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Girls5Eva, Inside Amy Schumer, and The Jim Gaffigan Show—will entertain you with guitar stunts and jokes (teen approved).

Moth Community Workshop
2026-01-24 12:00 - 15:00
FREE for members & non-members
Unlock the power of storytelling in this engaging, hands-on workshop designed for all ages and backgrounds.Drawing inspiration from the art of Moth-style storytelling, this workshop breaks down the core principles of storytelling while guiding you through practical exercises to hone your technique. You’ll learn how to bring your unique voice to any narrative, from personal anecdotes to professional pitches, with confidence and clarity.

Stories and Songs of The ‘60s: Broadway’s Last Golden Decade
2026-01-25 15:00 - 17:00
Members: $55; non-members: $75
Hear the iconic musical hits of the 60s performed by a group of professional singers accompanied by a life orchestra. This decade saw the rise of extraordinarily memorable Broadway shows, including Bye Bye Birdie, Cabaret, Funny Girl, Fiddler on the Roof, and many more., These musicals kept the lights bright on Broadway through a decade that included a tumultuous phase of American history and the post-Eisenhower years, in which the Broadway showtune gave way to rock and roll.

State of the Financial Markets in 2026
2026-01-26 10:00 - 11:30
FREE for members; $20 for non-members
From concerns about tariffs, fiscal deficits, geopolitics, potential overinvestment in AI, and lofty valuation multiples, investors may be a bit skittish at the moment. But is it all doom and gloom? We also have an accommodative Fed, an administration focused on deregulation, an impending M&A cycle, and a generational shift in technological capabilities. This session will discuss how to think about these cross-currents to ultimately construct robust portfolios without overreacting to ever-evolving bearish narratives.
About the presenter: Harry Mamaysky is a partner at QuantStreet Capital, which offers clients model and market analytics, wealth management, and investing services. Harry is also a professor at Columbia Business School, where he serves as the Faculty Director of the Program for Financial Studies. Harry earned his PhD in finance from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds BS and MS degrees in computer science from Brown University.
Please note: This presentation is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or endorsement of any particular investment strategy. All investments carry risks, including the possibility of losing principal value, and historical performance is not a guarantee of future results. Please consult with your own financial advisor before making any decisions about your portfolio allocation.

Group Outing: Tour and Italian Lunch at the Culinary Institute of America
2026-01-30 08:30 - 14:30
1946 Campus Drive Hyde Park, NY 12538
Members: $85; non-members: $95 *incl r/t transportation from the J, tour, and 3-course lunch
Tour begins at 10:15 am and lunch is at 11:30 am (Bus departs JCC at 8:15 am and returns around 2 pm)

Looking for a warm escape in the heart of winter? Join us on a culinary adventure at the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America (CIA)!
Our visit begins with a guided tour about the history of the CIA, the science of taste, and an exclusive Q&A with current CIA students who bring the school’s vibrant culture to life.
Afterward, we’ll indulge in a seasonal three-course lunch at the CIA’s acclaimed Italian restaurant, Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici, where fresh ingredients and authentic flavors take center stage. Dietary restrictions (vegetarian, gluten free, allergies, etc.) can be accommodated with two weeks notice.
Roundtrip transportation from the JCC is included—all you have to do is relax, learn, and digest this delicious midwinter getaway!
Registration opens 11/30
