TONIGHT ON SHOWCASE WITH BARBARA KELLAR, DANIELLE MINSON AND TAMARA HARKAVY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF CINCINNATI, WITH ABBY SCHWARTZ OF THE SKIRBALL MUSEUM DISCUSSING JEWISH CINCINNATI BICENTENNIAL.

STAY TUNED.

SHOWCASE STARTS RIGHT NOW.

KELLAR: HI, I'M BARBARA KELLAR, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TODAY TO HAVE THREE GUESTS, AND THAT'S BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT EVENT FOR CINCINNATI THAT WE REQUIRED THREE PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY MUCH INVOLVED WITH IT TO TELL US ALL ABOUT IT.

THE JEWISH BICENTENNIAL IS A SERIES OF FABULOUS EVENT.

AND THESE THREE FRIENDS TAMARA HARKAVY, ABBY SCHWARTZ AND DANIELLE MINSON ARE ALL -- THEY'RE WHAT'S MAKING IT RUN.

SO WE WANT TO TALK TO EACH OF THEM AND LET THEM TELL US WHAT'S HAPPENING AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT.

SO TAMARA IS OVER THERE FIRST.

LET'S TALK TO YOU.

TELL US WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND EXPLAIN TO THE AUDIENCE WHY IT'S GREAT.

HARKAVY: WELL, I'M HERE TODAY WITH MY PARTNERS IN CRIME TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT JEWISH CINCINNATI BICENTENNIAL AND HOW ALL THIS CAME TO BE.

AND I REALLY WANT TO SET THE FOUNDATION, MAYBE BY JUST SAYING UNTIL WE STARTED WORKING ON THIS ABOUT SIX, NINE MONTHS AGO, A YEAR AGO.

SCHWARTZ: AT LEAST, A YEAR.

HARKAVY: EVEN, YOU KNOW, I'M NATIVE CINCINNATI, BORN JEWISH, LIVED A JEWISH LIFE HERE ALL MY LIFE, DID NOT RECOGNIZE OR REALIZE THE DEEP ROOTED IMPORTANCE OF THE JEWISH CONTRIBUTION TO THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.

SO THAT'S WHAT -- WE CALL IT JCB -- IS ALL ABOUT.

AND I WILL GO INTO DETAIL, BUT IF, DANIELLE, I HATE TO DO THIS, BUT I WANT TO KICK IT OVER TO YOU BECAUSE YOU HAVE SUCH AN ELOQUENT WAY OF TALKING ABOUT WHY WE'RE DOING THIS AND I WILL FOLLOW SUIT.

BUT YOU'VE JUST GOT IT.

KELLAR: THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURT.

MINSON: OKAY, SURE.

THANK YOU.

AND I HOPE ELOQUENT, TAMARA.

BUT SO THE JEWISH FEDERATION IS THE SECOND OLDEST JEWISH FEDERATION IN THE COUNTRY.

AND WE WERE ACTUALLY FOUNDED IN 1986 AS UNITED JEWISH CHARITIES.

AND THE WHOLE CONCEPT WAS TO HELP TAKE CARE OF THE POOR SO THAT THEY COULD ACTUALLY BE SELF-SUFFICIENT AND GET JOBS.

AND TODAY WE ARE ACTUALLY CELEBRATING OUR 126TH ANNIVERSARY.

TODAY WE HAVE EVOLVED TO DO SO MUCH MORE AND WE ARE STILL TAKING CARE OF VULNERABLE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, BUT WE ARE ALSO THE STRATEGIC PLANNER FOR THE COMMUNITY.

WE ARE HERE TO CONVENE AND MOBILIZE RESOURCES AND PEOPLE.

AND SO WHEN THIS CAME ABOUT, THE JEWISH BICENTENNIAL, WE WERE SO PROUD TO TAKE THE LEAD TO HELP CONVENE AND ORGANIZE THIS ON BEHALF OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY.

AND PRIMARILY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE SO -- THAT WE WANT TO SHOWCASE THROUGH THE BICENTENNIAL IS THE ROLE THAT IMMIGRANTS AND MINORITIES HAVE HAD ON THIS CITY, OUR COUNTRY, BUT THIS CITY.

AND BOTH TAMERA AND ABBY POINTED OUT TO ME EARLIER, WHICH IS SO TRUE, EVERY -- ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ARTS ORGANIZATION IN THIS COMMUNITY HAS BEEN IMPACTED OR INFLUENCED BY JEWISH WOMEN, JEWISH PEOPLE, AND WE'RE PROUD OF THAT AND WE WANT TO SHOWCASE THAT TO THE COMMUNITY.

KELLAR: YOU SHOULD BE, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ABOUT HERE, TOO, IS TALKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO MADE US WHAT WE ARE.

AND WE THINK THAT'S PRETTY, PRETTY GREAT.

BUT LET'S START AT THE BEGINNING, 1821.

ABBY, TELL US ABOUT THAT.

SCHWARTZ: SURE, SURE.

SO, MY ROLE HERE IS AS A MEMBER OF THE BICENTENNIAL COMMITTEE, WHICH REALLY IT WAS ABOUT A YEAR AGO THAT WE STARTED TO THINK ABOUT THIS.

AND TAMARA IS ONE OF THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE ENTIRE JEWISH CINCINNATI BICENTENNIAL, ALONG WITH KIM HYMAN.

AND OF COURSE, THE FEDERATION.

WE COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT THE FEDERATION, ALL OF THEIR SUPPORT FINANCIALLY, ORGANIZATIONALLY, LOTS AND LOTS OF MOVING PARTS THAT ARE BEING ORGANIZED BY THIS AMAZING UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION.

BUT I REPRESENT THE SKIRBALL MUSEUM, AS WELL AS HEBREW UNION COLLEGE HERE TODAY AS PARTNERS IN BRINGING PROGRAMING THAT REALLY TELLS THE STORY.

SO YES, 1821, RIGHT BEHIND MUSIC HALL, JUST -- YOU CAN -- A FEW STEPS FROM WHERE WE'RE SITTING RIGHT NOW IS A LITTLE PLOT OF LAND THAT IS A CEMETERY THAT HAS ABOUT 100 BODIES THAT WERE BURIED THERE.

KELLAR: IT STILL EXISTS?

SCHWARTZ: IT STILL EXISTS AT THE CORNER OF CHESTNUT AND CENTRAL.

WE ARE GOING TO LEAD, IF IT WASN'T SO COLD TODAY, I WOULD LEAVE HERE WITH YOU AND WALK YOU OVER THERE.

KELLAR: OKAY.

SCHWARTZ: IT IS A SMALL CORNER IN THE WEST END THAT WAS PURCHASED.

A PIECE OF LAND WAS PURCHASED FROM NICHOLAS LONGWORTH IN 1821 BY THE FLEDGLING JEWISH COMMUNITY.

WE'RE TALKING A HALF A DOZEN TO 10 PEOPLE WHO WERE JEWISH, WHO WERE PERMANENTLY LIVING HERE.

AND THEY WERE MEETING AND HAVING SERVICES AND JOINING TOGETHER TO BE JEWISH TOGETHER.

BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL SOMEONE DIED IN THAT COMMUNITY THAT THERE WAS A NEED FOR A CEMETERY SO THAT THIS PERSON COULD BE BURIED WITH JEWISH RITUALS.

SO THAT YEAR, 1821, BECAUSE OF THAT LEGAL TRANSACTION REPRESENTS THE OFFICIAL BEGINNING OF A JEWISH COMMUNITY IN CINCINNATI.

KELLAR: WOW.

AND HOW MUCH LONGER WAS IT BEFORE THEY HAD --DO YOU CALL THE THAT -- WOULD THAT BE A TEMPLE OR -- SCHWARTZ: A TEMPLE, A SYNAGOGUE, A SHUL, THERE'S A MILLION WAYS.

KELLAR: IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A CERTAIN SIZE TO BE A SYNAGOGUE?

SCHWARTZ: IN THREE MORE YEARS, IN 1824, A BUILDING WAS BUILT THAT ESTABLISHED -- WELL, ACTUALLY, THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A BUILDING YET, BUT THEY ESTABLISHED A CONGREGATION CALLED KAHAL KADOSH BENE ISRAEL, WHICH IS THE HOLY CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.

THAT IS TODAY'S ROCKDALE TEMPLE IN AMBERLEY VILLAGE.

BUT THEIR FIRST LOCATION WAS AT THE CORNER OF 6TH AND SYCAMORE, WHERE PROCTOR AND GAMBLE IS.

THEY BUILT A SECOND SYNAGOGUE THERE.

THEN THEY MOVED OVER TO MOUNT STREET.

THEN THEY MOVED TO AVONDALE.

THEN THEY MOVED TO AMBERLEY.

SO THAT'S SORT OF THE WAY THAT THE JEWISH COMMUNITY EVOLVED FROM REALLY THE WEST END WHERE UNITED JEWISH CHARITIES WAS IN A BUILDING IN THE WEST END, THAT WAS ITS ORIGINAL HOME, WHICH BECAME THE JEWISH FEDERATION.

KELLAR: WELL, WHEN WAS THE MUSIC HALL BUILT?

I SHOULD KNOW.

SCHWARTZ: YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT.

HARKAVY: I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ANSWER THAT.

[INDISCERNIBLE CROSSTALK] HARKAVY: OH, MY GOSH.

SHAME ON US.

KELLAR: SO BUT IT PROBABLY 1821, I DON'T THINK MUSIC HALL WAS BUILT IN 1821.

SCHWARTZ: I DON'T THINK SO EITHER.

KELLAR: SO MUSIC HALL CAME AFTER THAT.

SCHWARTZ: RIGHT, RIGHT.

HARKAVY: YEAH, AND WASHINGTON, PARK WAS A CEMETERY AS WELL, NOT JEWISH.

HARKAVY: NOT A JEWISH, BUT A CEMETERY.

HARKAVY: AND WE DIGRESS.

KELLAR: BUT YEAH, YOU KNOW WHAT?

ALL OF THAT IS REALLY INTERESTING, THOUGH.

IT REALLY, AT LEAST TO ME, AND I THINK TO OUR VIEWERS, IT'S REALLY INTERESTING WHAT WAS WHERE, WHY IT WAS THERE, WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?

HOW DID IT PROGRESS?

AND 1821, WHAT ELSE WAS HAPPENING HERE IN 1821?

SCHWARTZ: IT WAS A VERY YOUNG COMMUNITY.

BY 1850, CINCINNATI WAS REALLY ON THE MAP AS AN IMPORTANT CENTER FOR ARTS AND CULTURE.

YOU KNOW THAT MANY OF THE ARTISTS WHO WENT ON TO HAVE INTERNATIONAL REPUTATIONS CAME HERE TO STUDY.

ONE OF THOSE WAS HENRY MOSLER, WHO WAS JEWISH.

DID YOU KNOW THAT?

KELLAR: NO, I DIDN'T.

SCHWARTZ: SO, HIS FAMILY WERE THE MOSLER SAFE COMPANY.

KELLAR: I KNOW MOSLER SAFE.

SCHWARTZ: THAT'S HIS FAMILY.

KELLAR: WELL, THE THING IS, PEOPLE, WHATEVER YOUR RELIGION, YOU KNOW WHO DID WHAT, BUT YOU DON'T SAY, "OH, OH GOSH.

WELL, HE WAS JEWISH AND HE WAS JEWISH."

HARKAVY: YEAH, THAT'S THE THING.

THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REALLY SO EXCITED ABOUT.

KELLAR: SO, PEOPLE APPRECIATING WHERE WE WERE AND HOW WE'VE COME AND WHO'S MADE THAT HAPPEN AND WHO ARE WE -- TO WHOM ARE WE GRATEFUL?

AND I LOVE THAT WHOLE THING.

SCHWARTZ: THERE'S ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE OF IT THAT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE HOLD ON TO.

YOU KNOW THIS SHOW THAT WE HAD AT OUR MUSEUM, WHICH JUST CLOSED, WAS PORTRAITS OF JEWISH CINCINNATIANS THROUGH THE AGES.

WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER SHOW IN THE NEXT FALL, WHICH I'LL HOPE TO HAVE A CHANCE TO SAY A COUPLE OF WORDS ABOUT.

BUT IN ADDITION TO KNOWING WHO DID WHAT AND WHEN, IT'S REALLY COOL TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION IN YOUR ARSENAL.

BUT THE OTHER THING THAT WAS SUCH A THEME OF THIS SHOW, AND I THINK IT'S REALLY A THEME OF THE BICENTENNIAL, IS THESE PEOPLE WERE LARGELY IMMIGRANTS OR FIRST GENERATION AMERICANS.

NOT ONLY DID THEY MAKE A MARK ON THE COMMUNITY, PEOPLE LIKE IRWIN KROHN, FOR WHOM THE KROHN CONSERVATORY IS NAMED, OR MILTON SCHLOSS, WHO INHERITED -- KELLAR: A GOOD FRIEND OF OURS.

SCHWARTZ: OKAY.

WELL, HE INHERITED HIS FAMILY, YOU KNOW, MEAT BUSINESS, ELIAS KAHN AND SONS, AND BUILT IT TO AN INTERNATIONAL ENTITY.

BUT TO A PERSON, THESE PEOPLE GAVE BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITY, NOT JUST THE JEWISH COMMUNITY, BUT THE LARGER COMMUNITY.

AND THEY SAW THE VALUE OF HAVING A LEGACY OF DOING GOOD WORKS, WHICH IS A VERY JEWISH ETHIC.

AND PEOPLE GET THAT WHEN THEY SAY, "WOW, HE COULD HAVE JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, SPEND HIS MONEY ON WHATEVER."

BUT HE MADE SURE THAT HE BROUGHT PEOPLE OVER FROM GERMANY AND GAVE THEM A JOB.

AND YOU KNOW, SO IT'S TO A PERSON OF THESE MAJOR SCIONS OF CINCINNATI HISTORY, THEY MADE HUGE CONTRIBUTIONS, BUT ALSO GAVE BACK.

KELLAR: YEAH.

SCHWARTZ: I'LL BE QUIET.

[INDISCERNIBLE CROSSTALK] HARKAVY: NO, I LOVE THAT.

I THINK THAT'S WHAT MAKES CINCINNATI AND THE JEWISH BICENTENNIAL SO SPECIAL IS WE'RE GETTING TO TELL THAT STORY.

KELLAR: RIGHT.

TAMARA, TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE EVENTS AND SO FORTH THAT ARE COMING UP.

I KNOW YOU'VE HAD A LOT ALREADY BECAUSE ARE WE INTO '22, BECAUSE '21 KIND OF WITH COVID?

OR HAD YOU PLANNED IT THE LAST THIS LONG?

MINSON: WE PLANNED IT, 18 MONTHS.

HARKAVY: IT'S NOT EVEN A YEAR, WE'RE STRETCHING IT OUT.

KELLAR: OH, OK. MINSON: WE ARE REALLY CELEBRATING.

HARKAVY: YEAH.

BUT TO ABBY'S POINT, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THE CEMETERY IN 1821, THE TAGLINE OF THE BICENTENNIAL IS JEWISH SINCE 1821.

AND WE LOVE THAT BECAUSE WE ARE ALL LEARNING HISTORY ABOUT OUR CITY AND I THINK ONE OF THE -- THERE'S 38, MAYBE 40 DIFFERENT CULTURAL PARTNERS, WHO ARE PRODUCING ABOUT 58 DIFFERENT EVENTS OVER THE COURSE OF THE 18.

AND SOME ARE BEAUTIFUL SMALL GATHERINGS AND OTHERS ARE REALLY MONUMENTAL EFFORTS LIKE THE SKIRBALL MUSEUM AND WHAT MILES WOLF IS DOING WITH FOTOFOCUS.

BUT ONE OF THE SEMINAL MOMENTS IS GOING TO BE AT THE CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER WHERE THERE'S AN EXHIBITION CALLED OUR SHARED STORY: 200 YEARS OF JEWISH HISTORY.

AND THAT IS GOING TO REALLY DIG INTO SOME OF THE BETTER KNOWN AND LESSER KNOWN STORIES ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT JEWS AS IMMIGRANTS HAVE HAD ON ART, ON CULTURE, ON EDUCATION.

KELLAR: HOW ABOUT MEDICINE?

HARKAVY: ON MEDICINE, OF COURSE.

SCHWARTZ: WHISKEY.

HARKAVY: OH, YEAH.

OH YEAH.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW.

KELLAR: WAS, WHAT'S HIS NAME?

OH, THE BIG BOOTLEGGER.

HE WAS THE WHISKEY-- HARKAVY: NOT REMUS?

KELLAR: REMUS, HE WASN'T JEWISH.

HARKAVY: NO.

KELLAR: GOOD.

HE WASN'T JEWISH.

SCHWARTZ: WORKUM FREIBURG, TWO JEWISH FAMILIES, AND THEIR NAMES ARE STILL VERY IMPORTANT IN CINCINNATI FOR MEDICAL REASONS AND FOR OTHER REASONS.

THEY HAD THE LARGEST WHISKEY BUSINESS IN THE TRI-STATE AREA ALL DURING PROHIBITION.

KELLAR: OH, GOOD FOR THEM.

SCHWARTZ: UNTIL PROHIBITION.

KELLAR: I WAS GOING TO SAY.

WELL, WE WON'T GET INTO THE DETAILS OF THAT.

HARKAVY: YOU KNOW WHAT?

IT'S LIKE THE HISTORY OF OUR PEOPLE, OF A PEOPLE.

IT'S NOT ALL LIKE, YOU KNOW, POPPIES AND ROSES AND CHOCOLATE.

I MEAN, THERE IS SOME STUFF, THERE'S SOME STUFF THAT'S IMPORTANT TOO.

KELLAR: WELL, IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE'RE ALL -- THAT'S WHAT, WHY WE ADHERE TO EACH OTHER, BECAUSE NOBODY'S PERFECT.

SO WE EMBRACE THE GREAT, BUT WE ALSO UNDERSTAND THE NOT SO GREAT.

HARKAVY: SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, AS DANIELLE WAS TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE GOALS OF THIS.

I THINK IT'S JUST REALLY EXCITING TO BE ABLE TO SAY, "YOU KNOW WHAT?

WE'RE IMMIGRANTS, BUT YOU WERE AN IMMIGRANT TOO.

HERE'S OUR STORY.

LET'S ALL COME TOGETHER, AND LET'S NOT FORGET THAT.

AND LET'S UNDERSTAND HOW EVERYTHING WE DO TOUCHES EVERYTHING ELSE IN THIS COMMUNITY."

SCHWARTZ: IT REALLY IS THAT THE IDEA OF IMMIGRATION, WHICH WHO WOULD HAVE EVER THOUGHT IT WOULD BE, LIKE, ONE OF THE WORDS WE SAY SO OFTEN IN OUR SOCIETY THESE DAYS.

IT REALLY IS THE GREAT EQUALIZER.

I MEAN, THE SKIRBALL MUSEUM'S PERMANENT INSTALLATION BEGINS WITH IMMIGRATION, WHICH IS NOT LINEAR.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE 19TH CENTURY AND OUR HISTORY AS JEWS GOES BACK THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

BUT IF YOU START IN THAT MOMENT, AS TAMARA SAID, EVERYBODY WHO WALKS IN THERE HAS AN IMMIGRATION STORY OR SHOULD, OR SHOULD LOOK IT UP OR SHOULD TALK TO THEIR FAMILIES.

HARKAVY: THEY REALLY WANT TO KNOW THAT.

SCHWARTZ: WE REALLY WANT TO KNOW THAT, WHETHER YOU'RE IRISH OR ITALIAN OR JEWISH OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER YOUR FAITH IS, WHATEVER YOUR STORY IS, YOUR PEOPLE CAME FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE TO HAVE A BETTER LIFE IN AMERICA.

SO IT'S A GREAT EQUALIZER AND PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE THEN LIKE SAYING, "OH, SO IT WAS THE SAME THING FOR JEWS WHO CAME HERE."

TWO SEPARATE WAVES OF JEWS, GERMAN AND ENGLISH INITIALLY AND THEN EASTERN EUROPEAN WHO WERE ESCAPING PERSECUTION IN EASTERN EUROPE.

KELLAR: DON'T YOU THINK THAT ALL THESE ANCESTRY.COM OR WHATEVER, WHICH EVERYBODY IS DOING IT, YOU SPIT IN A BOTTLE OR WHATEVER.

AND THEN THEY TELL YOU.

AND MINE CAME BACK THAT IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I KNEW IT WAS.

BUT SOME PEOPLE ARE SO JUST AMAZED BY THEIR HERITAGE.

BUT THEY WANT TO KNOW, THAT'S THE IMPORTANT PART.

MINSON: YEAH.

KELLAR: EVERYBODY NOW WANTS TO KNOW AND THEY FOLLOW UP ON.

WE HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE ITALIAN, AND THEY FOUND THE TOWN AND THIS MAN AND HIS SON WENT, FOUND THE TOWN IN ITALY NAMED AFTER THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE -- THAT'S WHERE THEY STARTED.

SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S REALLY A GREAT TESTIMONY TO PEOPLE TODAY.

HEY, THAT'S A GOOD STORY.

I REALLY WANT TO -- I REALLY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THAT.

MINSON: WELL, AND TO THAT POINT, ACTUALLY, BARBARA, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IS WE ALSO WANT TO INSPIRE.

WE WANT TO INSPIRE YOUNG PEOPLE.

YOU KNOW, AS YOU SAID, TAMARA, WE WANT YOUNG PEOPLE TO FEEL PRIDE IN WHAT THEIR ANCESTORS HAVE BROUGHT TO CINCINNATI.

WE ALSO WANT OTHER MINORITY COMMUNITIES TO BE INSPIRED THAT LOOK AT THE IMPACT THAT YOU CAN HAVE FROM AN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY AND A MINORITY COMMUNITY.

SO, I THINK THE OTHER THING IS ALSO TAKING PRIDE.

YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO BE JEWISH, AND WE WANT YOUNG GENERATIONS AND EVERYBODY TO FEEL CONNECTED TO THIS AND FEEL PRIDE IN LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE DONE AS A COMMUNITY.

KELLAR: HOW ARE YOU DISSEMINATING THE INFORMATION ABOUT THESE DIFFERENT EVENTS SO THAT PEOPLE CAN KNOW ABOUT THEM AND ATTEND OR WHATEVER?

I'M PUTTING YOU -- [INDISCERNIBLE CROSSTALK] KELLAR: YOU DIDN'T THINK THIS WOULD BE EASY, DID YOU?

HARKAVY: NO, I LOVE THAT IT'S NOT EASY.

AND THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT.

AND I KNOW -- WE HAVE A WEBSITE, OF COURSE, WWW.JEWISHCINCY200.ORG.

SO WITH THE Y, CINCY200.ORG.

AND THE EVENTS, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL, VERY SIMPLE WEBSITE SO YOU CAN CLICK TO BECOMING DR. RUTH, WHICH IS GOING TO BE AT THE PLAYHOUSE AND BUY TICKETS DIRECTLY FROM THIS WEBSITE.

YOU KNOW, SO WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY BEFORE IS WHEN ABBY AND COMPANY STARTED THIS, AND THEN I KIND OF HOPPED ON BOARD, I WAS AMAZED AT HOW MANY ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS WERE CALLING US AND SAYING, "HEY, WE WANT TO BE PART OF THIS.

YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN WE DO?

AND OH, BY THE WAY, WE'RE PROGRAMING TWO HOLOCAUST BALLETS THAT WERE COMMISSIONED IN COMMEMORATION IN MEMORY OF THE HOLOCAUST."

THE MOSLER SHOW AT THE ART MUSEUM.

SCHWARTZ: IT'S GOING TO BE AT THE CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM.

AND OF COURSE, THEY'RE BORROWING THE SKIRBALL'S PAINTING OF PLUM STREET TEMPLE FOR THEIR SHOW, AND THEY HAVE A WEALTH OF MOSLER MATERIAL.

HARKAVY: THE OPERA CALLED US.

YOU KNOW, I GOT THIS CALL, LIKE, "WE DON'T WANT TO BE LEFT OUT."

KELLAR: SO WHAT ARE THEY DOING?

ARE THEY THEY'RE GOING TO COMMISSION?

HARKAVY: THEY ARE DOING -- OH, I WISH I COULD REMEMBER THE NAME BECAUSE IT'S IN GERMAN AND THAT'S NOT MY LANGUAGE.

BUT IT'S IN APRIL.

THE PERFORMANCE IS GOING TO BE, GOD WILLING, IN WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE SMALL AUDITORIUM AT MUSIC HALL?

I SHOULD KNOW THAT TOO.

HARKAVY: THE WILKES.

KELLAR: THE WILKES, HARRY WILKES.

HARKAVY: HARRY WILKES AND IT IS -- KELLAR: OF BLESSED MEMORY.

HARKAVY: OF BLESSED MEMORY.

TO UNDERSTAND THAT WITH YOUR HEART.

THE PERFORMANCE IS REALLY THE BACKDROP IS KRISTALLNACHT.

AND THEY'RE IN A CABARET.

AND YOU KNOW, WHEN EVANS MIRAGEAS STARTS TALKING ABOUT THIS, I GET CHILLS AND START, YOU KNOW, I GET VERY EMOTIONAL.

SO THEY ARE WORKING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN ALL BE TOGETHER INSIDE THIS SPACE.

THERE'S A SYMPHONY PERFORMANCE THAT HAS BEEN POSTPONED, AND I HOPE IT REALLY HAPPENS AT THE END OF FEBRUARY, WHICH IS A FILM THAT WAS FOUND IN SOMEBODY'S BASEMENT IN BERLIN.

THE SILENT FILM, IT WAS RESTORED.

AND A FRENCH, AN ENSEMBLE LED BY MATTHIAS, AND AGAIN, MY FRENCH.

THEY'RE COMING TO CINCINNATI.

THEY'RE GOING TO PERFORM THE MUSIC TO THE BACKDROP OF THIS FILM CALLED A CITY WITHOUT JEWS.

SO WHILE THERE IS MUCH TO CELEBRATE AND REALLY COOL STUFF AND CONTRIBUTIONS, THERE'S ALSO THE NEED TO REMEMBER HOW TERRIBLE THINGS CAN BE IF WE TAKE OUR EYE OFF THE BALL.

KELLAR: RIGHT.

HARKAVY: FOR ALL OF US.

AND WE HAVE STORIES TO TELL AND TO TELL.

KELLAR: WELL, THE ACTIVITIES THAT YOU'RE PLANNING GO INTO, HOW FAR?

SCHWARTZ: I THINK THEY GO INTO, LIKE, NOVEMBER OF 2022.

KELLAR: NOVEMBER OF 2022?

HARKAVY: WE DO.

SO HERE'S THE THING, WE HAVE -- WE'RE PLANNING A LEGACY CONCERT IN A LEGACY OF KING RECORDS.

I CANNOT TELL YOU WHO IT IS YET.

AND YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT'S WE'RE-- SCHWARTZ: EVERYTHING'S CROSSED.

HARKAVY: THIS COULD BE JUST SO MUCH FUN.

AND THEN MY PARTNER, MY CO-CHAIR IN CRIME, KIM HYMAN, MIGHT KILL ME IF I DON'T MENTION THAT AS A TESTAMENT TO ALL OF THIS, THE NEXT PHASE WILL BE LAUNCHING A CAPITAL FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN TO PUT A PERMANENT PIECE OF SCULPTURE SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY, MARKING THIS 200, THIS BICENTENNIAL, BUT REALLY, IT WILL BE AROUND THE FACT THAT WE ARE ALL IMMIGRANTS AND CINCINNATI'S KIND OF QUILT OF CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ALL OF OUR CULTURES.

SO THAT THAT WILL START PHASE TWO ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS.

SCHWARTZ: BUT IN THE FALL OF, AS EVERY TWO YEARS YOU KNOW, THERE'S A FOTOFOCUS ALL ACROSS THE REGION.

SO, WE'VE SORT OF, THE SKIRBALL HAS SORT OF BOOKENDED THIS CELEBRATION BY HAVING THE SHOW THAT WE HAD THAT CLOSED AT THE END OF JANUARY ABOUT PEOPLE AND THEIR PORTRAITS.

AND THEN WITH FOTOFOCUS, WE'RE BRINGING BACK MILES WOLF, WHO WAS THE ARTIST WHO CREATED ONE OF OUR MOST POPULAR EXHIBITIONS WHERE HE TRACED THE HISTORY OF JEWISH CONGREGATIONS THROUGH IMAGES WHERE HE SUPERIMPOSED THE ORIGINAL BUILDING IN ITS LOCATION WHERE IT WOULD BE TODAY.

SO, FOR INSTANCE, MOUNT STREET TEMPLE WOULD BE ON AN ON RAMP TO 75, BUT HE HAD THE BACKDROP OF THE INTERSTATE WITH THIS BUILDING THAT NO LONGER STANDS.

SO, HE'S EXTENDING THAT CONCEPT TO NOT JUST CONGREGATIONAL LIFE, BUT COMMUNITY LIFE, THE DIFFERENT ITERATIONS OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER, THE UNITED JEWISH CHARITIES, ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT BUILDINGS.

AND WE HAVE ALL THE HISTORICAL INFORMATION AND THEN HE'S SORT OF SUPERIMPOSING THEM ON THEIR CURRENT LOCATION.

SO, IT'LL BE VERY WELL RECEIVED.

AND HE'S ALMOST DOUBLING OR MORE THAN DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF IMAGES THAT HE CREATED THE FIRST TIME AROUND.

KELLAR: YEAH, I THINK A SCULPTURE IS A GREAT IDEA.

I HAD A ROCK PUT IN EDEN PARK.

IT'S WHERE YOU GO AROUND THAT VERY DEEP CURVE AND IT'S STRAIGHT AHEAD, WHICH COMMEMORATED THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HOLOCAUST.

AND IT WAS IN CONJUNCTION WITH SOMETHING THAT I DID WITH THE ENSEMBLE THEATER, LONG, LONG, AS YOU KNOW, LONG YEARS AGO.

HARKAVY: THAT WAS 20 SOME ODD YEARS AGO.

KELLAR: YEAH, BUT I HAD THIS PUT, IT'S ALLOW US TO SPEAK FOR THOSE WHO SPEAK NO MORE.

WHICH WAS A PART OF A SHOW THEY WERE DOING.

BUT ANYWAY, I HAD IT PUT ON A ROCK AND IT'S THERE AND THE HILLSIDE, AND I MAKE SURE THAT THEY CUT THE GRASS AROUND IT SO YOU CAN SEE IT.

BUT THAT WAS JUST A TINY THING, BUT A SCULPTURE THAT'S IN MEMORY OF SOMETHING IMPORTANT, I THINK IS A GREAT IDEA.

HARKAVY: WELL, WE HAVE -- WE WANT IT TO BE INTERACTIVE.

WE WANT IT TO BE, AND THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT WORD, BUT SHINY.

THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S GOING TO BE LIKE BLING-Y.

KELLAR: BUT IT ATTRACTS YOUR ATTENTION.

HARKAVY: JOY AND STORY, YOU KNOW, TELLING THE STORY AND INVOLVING ALL OF US.

SCHWARTZ: AND IN A LOCATION WHERE PEOPLE CAN ACCESS IT AND UNDERSTAND IT IN TERMS OF THE HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY.

KELLAR: GETTING PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.

SO I HOPE THIS SHOW, THEY'RE ALL WATCHING.

BUT AS YOU SAY, THEY CAN JUST GO TO THE WEBSITE AND SEE WHAT ACTIVITIES THEY MIGHT WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN.

HARKAVY: THEY CAN THEY CAN CALL US AT THE FEDERATION OR EMAIL ANY OF US.

WE'RE EASY, WE'RE REALLY EASY TO FIND.

MINSON: YEAH.

KELLAR: ARE YOU SORT OF OVER- SEEING ALL THIS AS PART OF THAT?

MINSON: WELL, SO THE FEDERATION IS THE CONVENER.

WE'RE THE ONES WHO PULLED EVERYTHING TOGETHER.

AND WE STARTED WITH THE COMMITTEE REPRESENTING MANY JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS.

AND REALLY, THOUGH, THE LEAD IS OUR CHAIRS, WHO'S TAMARA HARKAVY AND KIM HYMAN.

BUT THE FEDERATION IS BEHIND IT.

AND SO IN FACT, WE'VE HELPED WITH A LOT OF THE PRIMARY, THE FUNDING AND THE FUNDRAISING.

AND IF YOU COME TO THE FEDERATION WEBSITE, YOU CAN ALSO SEE, CONNECT TO THE JEWISH BICENTENNIAL FROM THIS.

THE OTHER THING I'LL SAY IS THAT WE ALSO SEND OUT A LOT OF EMAILS.

AND SO IF ANYBODY IS INTERESTED, AND YOU WANT TO BE INTERESTED IN THE VARIOUS EVENTS THAT WE'VE GOT, YOU CAN REACH OUT TO ONE OF US FOR THAT AS WELL.

KELLAR: YEAH, BECAUSE WE WANT MORE THAN JUST THE JEWISH COMMUNITY.

THE WHOLE THING IS, LET'S HAVE EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.

HARKAVY: ONE OF THE COOLEST MOMENTS SO FAR WAS A MUSICAL PERFORMANCE BY THE SYMPHONY AT PLUM STREET TEMPLE.

AND RABBI KAMRASS GOT UP ON WHAT WE CALL THE BHIMA, AND THE PLACE WAS PACKED.

AND I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE PEOPLE IN THERE.

THEY WERE NOT MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION.

THEY WERE FROM THE CITY AND THEY WERE LOVERS OF THE SYMPHONY.

AND HE GAVE THEM MAYBE A FIVE MINUTE SPIEL ON THE HISTORY OF PLUM STREET.

AND I COULD SEE PEOPLE, I MEAN, BECAUSE PLUM STREET IS JUST EYE CANDY.

KELLAR: EVERYBODY SHOULD SEE IT.

HARKAVY: PEOPLE LIKE THIS THE ENTIRE TIME.

SCHWARTZ: AND AND I THINK THE SAME THING WAS TRUE THE WHOLE BICENTENNIAL WAS KICKED OFF AT THE CEMETERY.

AND THE WEST END COMMUNITY WAS VERY INVOLVED IN SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE TO THE SPACE AROUND THE CEMETERY.

IT'S ALL BEEN REALLY, REALLY SPRUCED UP.

IT LOOKS AMAZING AND THERE WERE, SO MANY PEOPLE THERE FROM THE COMMUNITY WHO WERE NOT JEWISH, WHO FOR WHOM THIS IS, YOU KNOW, A POINT OF PRIDE THAT THIS HAS BEEN THERE SO LONG.

AND ALSO AT OUR OPENING FOR OUR SHOW, WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO WERE HAD NEVER BEEN TO THE SKIRBALL BEFORE AND WERE JUST ASTOUNDED BY THESE PORTRAITS AND HOW MANY PEOPLE THEY KNEW AND HOW MANY STORIES THEY HAD HEARD.

BUT THEY HAD NO IDEA OF THE IMMIGRANT STORY, THE BACKGROUND, YOU KNOW, THE NARRATIVE THAT WENT WITH THESE IMAGES.

KELLAR: I WAS AT ONE CONCERT ORGAN CONCERT AT PLUM STREET, WHICH WAS THE SAME AS YOU'RE SAYING, IS EVERYBODY BEHIND US WAS A LARGE GROUP OF NUNS.

AND SO I THOUGHT YES.

HARKAVY: THAT'S FABULOUS.

KELLAR: THIS IS GREAT, THIS IS WHAT WE WANT.

WE WANT EVERYBODY TO KNOW AND APPRECIATE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF.

HARKAVY: SO ONE REALLY FUNNY THING, YOU KNOW, I THINK MOST OF US KNOW ABOUT MANISCHEWITZ: WINE, MATZO, GEFILTE FISH, WHATEVER.

I DID NOT KNOW THAT MANISCHEWITZ IS FROM CINCINNATI.

IT STARTED IN DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, AND NOW IT IS A MULTI -- SO THESE ARE THE TIDBITS AS WE LEARN AND KIND OF COME TOGETHER AND THEN PEOPLE ARE TELLING US NEW STUFF ALL THE TIME.

KELLAR: YOU'RE GOING TO FIND OUT THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW NEARLY AS MUCH AS YOU COULD HAVE.

YEAH, IT'S A GREAT EDUCATION.

HARKAVY: WE'RE LUCKY TO HAVE THIS AMAZING HISTORIAN WITH US.

SCHWARTZ: THAT'S ANOTHER GREAT THING IS THAT WE'RE BUILDING MORE NARRATIVE.

YOU KNOW, EVERY TIME YOU DO AN EXHIBITION OR YOU HAVE A PROGRAM, SOMEONE WILL COME TO YOU INEVITABLY AND SAY, "I HAVE THIS PORTRAIT OF MY ANCESTORS," AND THEY DID X, Y AND Z.

AND WHILE WE COULDN'T NECESSARILY SHOW IT, WE'LL CERTAINLY TAKE THAT DOCUMENTATION AND MAKE IT PART OF THE RECORD SO THAT PEOPLE WHO DO THIS A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW WILL SAY, "LOOK AT THOSE PEOPLE IN 2021, THEY REALLY HAD THEIR STARS."

KELLAR: SO WELL, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.

ALL THREE OF YOU ARE DOING FANTASTIC THINGS FOR THE CITY AND WE TRULY, TRULY APPRECIATE YOUR COMING AND TELLING US ABOUT ALL ABOUT THIS BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE WHOLE CITY SHOULD CELEBRATE AND PARTICIPATE IN, AND YOU GUYS ARE MAKING IT HAPPEN.

HARKAVY: WE LOVE YOUR ENTHUSIASM, BARBARA.

SCHWARTZ: LOVED BEING HERE, THANK YOU, BARBARA.

MINSON: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

- JOIN US NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF SHOWCASE WITH BARBARA KELLAR RIGHT HERE ON CET.

CAPTIONS: MAVERICK CAPTIONING CIN OH MAVERICKCAPTIONING.COM