Nearly 30 entertainers to appear at Palo Alto fair Sunday

Let the Palo Alto Jewish street fair entertain you.

During the second "To Life! A Jewish Cultural Street Festival" on Sunday, performers ranging from storytellers and musicians to dancers and puppeteers will dazzle the anticipated crowd of more than 10,000 while they nibble on kosher hotdogs, admire Jewish crafts and take in the flavor of Jewish life.

More than 30 entertainers, showcasing various types of performing arts passed down by Jews through the ages, are set to take three separate stages, providing daylong entertainment during the fair, which runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on California Avenue.

"We wanted to make sure we had a wide variety of acts, representing the wide variety of Jewish talent out there," said Janis Sands-Weinstein, executive director of New Bridges, the Peninsula outreach organization that is presenting the fair. "Jews express themselves in so many ways. We wanted to capture that."

Despite a small entertainment budget, necessitating "a sharp reduction" in the performers' usual fees, Sand-Weinstein said most viewed the gig "as a statement of their support for the Jewish community," and seemed to jump at the chance to fill a slot.

Musician Jordan River agreed.

"What Jew wouldn't want to be a part?" said River, whose Jordan River's Soul Band will kick off the main stage events at 10 a.m. "There aren't too many opportunities to be a part of a Jewish street fair."

In addition to playing guitar with his band, River, a resident of San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood, will provide games and fun as "a mobile DJ" on the kid's stage.

"This community has been so good to me, hiring me out," said River, 34, who has performed at hundreds of b'nai mitzvah throughout the Bay Area. "This is a way to give back."

Also performing on the main stage, at Birch and California, is internationally known vocalist of Sephardi music Judy Frankel, who will perform with Achi Ben-Shalom of Adama; a cappella singing group Vocolot; and Mizrachi musician Mira. Renowned Jewish rock musician RebbeSoul will close the day with a performance between 4 and 6 p.m.

A community stage at Park and California, meanwhile, will feature interactive audience-based performances such as a cooking demonstration by the Jewish Bulletin's Joy of Jewish Cooking columnist Rebecca Ets-Hokin, participatory Israeli and Middle Eastern dancing, and a shofar-blowing contest.

Storytellers and Jewish folk singers will encompass the children's stage at Ash and Jacaranda Way from 10:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Klezmer band Kataklezm will both open and close the children's events, which will also include performances by Israeli puppeteer Timor Levy, children's author Michele Gabriel and storyteller Joel ben Izzy.

"Hopefully there's something for everyone," said Jessica Saal, chair of the fair's entertainment committee. "We tried to learn from last year to put together a schedule of performers that will appeal to all types of audience interests -- a variety of Jewish styles -- while fulfilling the festival's mission to provide an understanding of Jewish culture."

Nearly 50 Jewish community organizations are participating in the fair, which has multiple sponsors in the Jewish and general communities.