Gardens Shul hosted a sold-out International Jewish Music Festival on the second night of Chanukah. The event was part of the Gardens Global initiative, which is uniting South Africans globally.
The festival attracted more than 700 people who sang and danced the night away. The diverse crowd was a mix of locals and holidaymakers visiting Cape Town for the December holidays.
The festival MC was the hilarious South African comedian Nik Rabinowitz.
Highlights of the evening included the incredible partnership between local musician and cantor Choni G and the Khayelitsha African Mambazo, as well as Caryn Cohen (London) and Heather Levenstein (Sweden) on the strings. Joshua Abrams (London) and Nate Ambach (Belgium) sang some wonderful crowd favourites, as did the ‘Shluchim Shebang’ from the USA. Local child soloist Yankel Goldman sang a moving rendition of the Mi Shebeirach for the Chayalim.
“We had originally planned for 300 people,” Rabbi Osher Feldman of the Gardens Shul said, “but, once the event went online, the bookings did not stop. We increased the ticket numbers twice, until the festival was eventually sold out.
“The overwhelming response to the festival and the incredible time had by all was another important reminder of the vibrancy of our beautiful Cape Town Jewish community.”























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