Inaugural International YI Love Yiddishfest 2020 Generates 150,000-Plus Viewers

The Inaugural International VIRTUAL YI Love YiddishFest 2020, which took place Labor Day Week from September 7-13, sponsored by The Betsy South Beach, was declared a huge success by all measurable accounts according to Avi Hoffman, Founder and CEO of YI Love Jewish (www.yilovejewish.org), the organization that produced the event.

Hoffman said the festival reached more than 150,000 viewers across all online platforms (the organization's website and YouTube/Facebook pages), establishing YI Love Jewish as a leading Jewish cultural contributor to the world.

"This festival was enormous and succeeded well beyond everyone's expectations," Hoffman said. "One-hundred-fifty thousand participants to our online platforms quantifies the incredible impact YiddishFest had all over the world."

YI Love YiddishFest 2020 was a VIRTUAL 7 day, 44-event FREE Festival, during which major American and international stars of the Jewish and Yiddish world gathered to present concerts, performances, film screenings, theater readings, art showings, lectures, cooking classes and more from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

The festival featured a Liberation Commemoration Series of special events honoring the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and the liberation of the Nazi Concentration Camps sponsored by Miami-Dade County.

This unique series featured testimonials from South Florida's most prominent political leaders, including Gov. Jeb Bush, U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who established an official Proclamation declaring September 7 as Liberation Commemoration Dayin honor of the festival.

Actor George Takei, Grammy award-winner Frank London, Broadway star Loni Ackerman, TV Star Richard Kline Professor Robert Watson and many others, were also represented during this series and the festival.

Following the incredible success of this inaugural festival, YI Love Jewish is already expanding their upcoming programs, events and schedules into late 2021.

YI Love Jewish is bringing back its highly successful Yiddish Fun-01 and Yiddish Fun-02 Conversational Yiddish online classes.

Yiddish Fun-01 will start on October 18 and will run for six consecutive Sunday afternoons from noon to 1 p.m. until November 22.Yiddish Fun-02 will start on October 15 and will run for six consecutive Thursday evenings from 7 to 8 p.m. until November 19.(Prior Knowledge of Yiddish or participation in Yiddish Fun-01 is not necessary)

The purpose of these classes -- which are co-taught by YI co-founders, the mother-son powerhouse team of Professor Miriam and Avi Hoffman (both world-renowned Jewish educators and cultural activists) is to teach people conversational Yiddish in an easy, enjoyable and fun manneremphasizing the fact that Yiddish words and wisdom have become a very important component of our own American and world mainstream culture -- used by Jews and Non-Jews alike.

Chutzpah, Shpiel, Shlemiel and Shtik are among the more than 5,000 Yiddish words that have officially become a part of the English language.

These online courses fit perfectly with the mission of YI to celebrate Jewish culture and Yiddish language and their positive and far-reaching impact on the world.The cost to attend one of the YI's "Yiddish Fun" six-week courses is only $60.

Other events being planned include:

• A VIRTUAL Chanukah Mini-Festival: December 11-13, 2020.
• An International Holocaust Remembrance Day Commemoration: January 27, 2021.
• Virtual Purim Festival: February 19-25, 2021.
• An Internalional Holocaust Yom Hashoah Commemoration; April 7-8, 2021.
• YI Love YiddishFest 2021: August 30 - September 5, 2021.

For more information about any of these events or YI Love Jewish in general, visit www.YILoveJewish.org or https://www.facebook.com/YiddishkaytInitiative, email info@yilovejewish.org or call (888) YI-Love-J (888-945-6835).

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