Vivi rallies her comrades at The Great Yiddish Parade
November 23, 2017 4:00 PM Subscribe
"Did you spot a ragtag procession of musicians, people in costume, children and dogs marching from Aldgate through Whitechapel to Mile End Waste last Sunday? Behind this light-hearted frolic was a serious intent, for this was the Great Yiddish Parade, commemorating the procession of Jewish unemployed and garment workers which took place here in 1889." So writes the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life in a photo-filled post about the event.
The Gentle Author continues: "The original parade processed from Berners St in Stepney to the Great Synagogue in Aldgate, demanding that the Chief Rabbi condemn exploitative working practices in East End tailoring trades. After he refused to do so, they continued their march up Whitechapel Rd to Mile End Waste, where last Sunday’s parade culminated in a series of speeches from the eighteen-eighties. A klezmer band led the procession enlivened by rousing Yiddish songs of protest."
From the organizers, on the parade's Facebook page:
* The Great Yiddish Parade on Flickr
* Action klezmer! (YT, snippet from the 2016 parade)
Post title refers to parade organizer and historian Vivi Lachs (this episode of Very Loose Women is an interview with Lachs on the women and the music of the Yiddish East End, and it sounds fascinating.)
The Gentle Author continues: "The original parade processed from Berners St in Stepney to the Great Synagogue in Aldgate, demanding that the Chief Rabbi condemn exploitative working practices in East End tailoring trades. After he refused to do so, they continued their march up Whitechapel Rd to Mile End Waste, where last Sunday’s parade culminated in a series of speeches from the eighteen-eighties. A klezmer band led the procession enlivened by rousing Yiddish songs of protest."
From the organizers, on the parade's Facebook page:
The Great Yiddish Parade is the combination of The London Winchevsky Chorus and The London Yiddish Marching Band* From the Jewish Chronicle: Crowd turns out for the Great Yiddish Parade in London's East End
The Parade brings Yiddish into real happenings: cultural, social, political, where people sing songs as a form of cultural inclusion, crowd participation, social protest and demonstrations for equality and justice. Not always at the same time!! The Parade is flexible and inclusive. You may be Jewish or not, political or not, a Yiddish speaker or not, a musician, a singer or not.
* The Great Yiddish Parade on Flickr
* Action klezmer! (YT, snippet from the 2016 parade)
Post title refers to parade organizer and historian Vivi Lachs (this episode of Very Loose Women is an interview with Lachs on the women and the music of the Yiddish East End, and it sounds fascinating.)
This is great in all sorts of ways. Is it annual? I would go.
posted by Segundus at 10:44 PM on November 23, 2017
posted by Segundus at 10:44 PM on November 23, 2017
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posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:15 PM on November 23, 2017