Jewish Book Festival 2025
November 23 - 30
Arts & Culture
Arts & Culture Menu- Overview
Jewish Book Festival
The Jewish Book Festival is a dynamic celebration of culture, community, and conversation. Through books, we explore the richness of Jewish life—past, present, and future. With engaging events for all ages, the festival invites readers of every background to connect, learn, and be inspired by the power of storytelling. Don’t miss the chance to browse and discover a wide selection of Jewish literature.
Book Sale in partnership with Owl’s Nest
November 23, 24 & 30 | 10:00am – 5:00pm
November 25, 26 & 27 | 10:00am – 8:30pm
November 28 | 10:00am – 2:00pm
November 29 | CLOSED
Chanukah Market – Sunday, November 23
10:00am to 4:00pm
Come find that perfect gift or must-have for the holidays. Shop handmade goods from independent artists from holiday cards to jewelry, and pick up your Chanukah staples.
Nosh with Micah
Sunday, November 23 | 3:00pm
$18 per person
In partnership with PJ Library®
Join registered dietician and author Micah Siva, for a hands-on culinary experience! Learn how to craft a stunning mezze board—perfect for your Chanukah celebration. Each participant will receive a personalized cutting board to use in class and take home. For: Ages 10 and up. Register now.
About Micah Siva
Micah Siva (Grobman) is an award winning cookbook author, trained chef, and registered dietitian, specializing in modern Jewish cuisine. A Calgary native, Micah fell in love with cooking watching her grandmother in the kitchen. After graduating from the Natural Gourmet Institute of Health & Culinary Arts, she pursued a career in nutrition and later worked for global brands, media outlets, and publications in food media. Micah authored the acclaimed cookbook, Nosh: Plant Forward Recipes Celebrating Modern Jewish Cuisine as well as children’s book, 1, 2, 3, Nosh with Me. She shares Jewish-inspired, plant-forward recipes through her blog, Nosh with Micah. Micah lives in Illinois with her husband, toddler, and sheepadoodle.
Crash of the Heavens
Tuesday, November 25 | 7:00pm
FREE
Join acclaimed author Douglas Century as he presents his latest book, Crash of the Heavens: The Remarkable Story of Hannah Senesh and the Only Military Mission to Rescue Europe’s Jews During World War II.
About Douglas Century
Douglas Century is the author and co-author of numerous bestselling books including Hunting El Chapo, Under and Alone, Brotherhood of Warriors, Barney Ross: The Life of a Jewish Fighter, The Last Boss of Brighton, and Takedown: The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire. His World War II non-fiction narrative, No Surrender, co-authored with Chris Edmonds, was the recipient of a 2020 Christopher Award. Born and raised in Calgary, Century graduated from Princeton University. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, Rolling Stone, Billboard, and The Guardian.
Chasia’s Enchantment
Wednesday, November 26 | 7:00pm
FREE
A timely and timeless Q&A, with Hilda Chasia Szternfeld Smith, award- winning poet, artist, teacher, healer, and author of Chasia’s Enchantment (Volumes One and Two, Durvile Publishers).
About Hilda Chasia Szternfeld Smith
Hilda will present Storytelling — Who was and is Chasia? What relevance do these poems, artworks, and meditations have historically, holistically, and universally on both a personal and global stage today?
The internationally and locally award-winning author’s books hold a key to inner peace and world peace. In addition to a Q&A, there will be a poetry reading and storytelling session about what motivated Hilda Chasia and led to her invitation by a Canadian publisher to write these books — and more.
Hilda Chasia is a first-generation Canadian, a retired school teacher with nearly six decades of experience, and an active poet, artist, musician, composer, soprano, spiritual teacher, and counsellor. Her passion for life and learning is unstoppable, as is her ability to share with others our universal and personal need to stay positive and uplifted.
Writing it Right: Family Histories in Print
Thursday, November 27 | 7:00pm
FREE
In partnership with Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta
Local and overseas, self- and traditionally published, their own family story or someone else’s — we’ve lined up an experienced and talented panel featuring authors: Izak Paul, Sydney Sharpe, and Betty Sherwood, to talk about their experiences with the family history book writing process. Moderated by Maxine Fischbein.
About Izak Paul
Izak Paul is a retired professor of Biology. During his career, he received three teaching awards. He was the founding Mount Royal University coordinator of the annual Holocaust Education Symposium and served as the MRU coordinator for 30 years. He received a Human Rights Award from MRU as well as four community service awards from Calgary’s Jewish Community Council / Calgary Jewish Federation. Izak and his wife Hindy love spending time with their three amazing children and many beautiful grandchildren here in Calgary and in Jerusalem.
Izak’s book describes how he discovered what happened to his paternal grandparents and great-grandparents during the Holocaust. Izak grew up knowing that they had been murdered in the Holocaust but there was very little information known about what actually happened to them. During a vacation trip in Europe, he visited the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp (near Prague) and unexpectedly discovered Nazi records of his great-grandparents’ imprisonment there and records that described their ultimate fate. This discovery sparked a quest to discover many more details (including Nazi documents) about the tragic experiences of his paternal grandparents and great-grandparents during the Holocaust. It took him over nine years to complete all the research and write his book, Journey of Discovery.
About Sydney Sharpe
Sydney Sharpe is an award-winning author and co-author of 10 published books. They include The Gilded Ghetto: Women and Political Power in Canada; Notley Nation: How Alberta’s Political Upheaval Swept the Country (with Don Braid); as well as biographies of Sam Switzer, Doc Seaman, Clay Riddell, and Alvin Libin.
Sydney was senior columnist for the Calgary Herald, Calgary Bureau Chief for the Financial Post, and has written for numerous magazines, newspapers, and anthologies. She was a tenured professor in anthropology and sociology at Athabasca University and MacEwan University.
About Betty Sherwood
Born in Sarnia while her father was stationed there for a wartime engineering project, Betty pursued her education across several Canadian cities, including Edmonton, Sarnia, Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary, fostering a lifelong love of learning and literature. Betty devoted more than three decades to her career as a teacher and teacher-librarian in Toronto before relocating to Calgary fifteen years ago.
Since then, she has been an active volunteer with Heritage Park, Historic Calgary Week, the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta, and Jewish Family Service Calgary. A dedicated member of the CWLC for the past 10 years, Betty enjoys attending the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, opera, and ballet, as well as traveling and researching her family history. While her preferred reading is nonfiction, she appreciates that the club inspires her to explore a wide range of literary works.
Betty’s past presentation subjects include: Helen Humphreys, Alan Bennett, Shirley Hazzard, and Gary Shteyngart.
Tot Shabbat
Friday, November 28 | 10:30am
FREE
In partnership with PJ Library®
Join us for a special Tot Shabbat where we will highlight the children’s cookbook 1, 2, 3, Nosh With Me by award-winning author Micah Siva. This event will include all the fun of Tot Shabbat, plus an extended program with a themed craft.
Musicians Under the Radar
Sunday, November 30 | 3:00pm
FREE
In partnership with Temple B’nai Tikvah
Discover the stories behind Canada’s Jewish musicians and performers featured in David Eisenstadt’s acclaimed series:
• Under the Radar: 30 Notable Canadian Jewish Musicians
• Musicians Under the Radar: 36 Notable Canadian Jewish Performers
• Musicians Under the Radar: 42 Notable Canadian Jewish Performers
• Jazz Musicians Under the Radar: 18 Notable Canadian Jewish Performers
About David Eisenstadt
Calgary-born David Eisenstadt is a respected Canadian Public Relations Consultant, cofounding tcgPR (The Communications Group Inc.) in 1973 in Toronto. A Fellow of the Public Relations Society of America and Canadian Public Relations Society, he’s a Senator (Ret.) and Member of the Order of the University of Calgary, with a graduate Journalism degree from Ottawa’s Carleton University.
