Celebrate 26 years of the Ann Katz Festival of Books & Arts! The JCC's 26th annual Ann Katz Festival of Books & Arts is a three-week festival featuring well-known authors, award-winning films and local visual and performing artists. This year's festival will open with the world-renowned Sephardic musician, Sarah Aroeste, who shares her Sephardic culture through Ladino-language music, and will also include programs with Israeli chef and restaurateur Moshe Basson, Rabbi Sandra Lawson (the first Black woman Rabbi ordained in Reconstructionist Judaism), and actor and author B.J. Novak. More general information and Festival Pass sales at JCCindy.org/books-arts-festival; individual events at JCCindy.org/events. All events will take place in the JCC's Laikin Auditorium unless otherwise stated.

See more, pay less with the Festival Pass!

If you're planning to see multiple events, you can save by purchasing a Festival Pass. $40 in September, $50 in October.

The Ann Katz Festival of Books & Arts is made possible with funding from the Irwin and Ann Katz Cultural Arts and Education Endowment Fund and major festival sponsors including The Herbert Simon Family Foundation, Lilly Endowment Inc., Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, and Katz Sapper & Miller.

Sarah Aroeste Live in Concert - Mon, Oct 21 | 7 pm | $20 adults, $10 children. Sarah Aroeste, inspired by her family's Sephardic roots in N. Macedonia and Greece, has spent the last two decades bringing her contemporary vision for Sephardic culture - through music and books- to audiences around the world. Aroeste writes and sings in Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish dialect that originated by Spanish Jews after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. Those who left Spain, including Aroeste's family, carried the medieval language with them to the various points where they later settled, primarily along the Mediterranean coast and North Africa. In time, Ladino came to absorb bits and pieces of languages all along the Mediterranean coast, including some Greek, Turkish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Hebrew, and more. Aroeste has been a vocal advocate for exposing new audiences to Sephardic culture and has worked tirelessly to keep Ladino alive for a new generation. Aroeste is one of only a few Ladino composers today who writes her own music, and whether with her original compositions or with interpreting Ladino folk repertoire, she has developed a signature style combining traditional Mediterranean Sephardic sounds with contemporary influences such as rock, pop and jazz. Aroeste will perform with her band.

Sponsored by Etz Chaim Sephardic Congregation and Gadi Boukai Realtor and his team with FC Tucker Company.

R. Derek Black, author of The Klansman's Son - Tue, Oct 22 | 7 pm | $10. R. Derek Black (they/she) was raised to take over the white nationalist movement in the U.S. Their father, Don Black, was a former Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan and started Stormfront - Black built the kids' page. David Duke was also their close family friend and mentor. Racist hatred was all Black knew. But in college in 2013, Black began engaging with students of various religions and races. A Jewish classmate bucked campus pressure to ignore and isolate Black and invited them to Shabbat dinner in his dorm, and Black soon joined weekly for the conversations and camaraderie. It set them on course to publicly renounce white nationalism and apologize for their actions. In 2016, as they watched the rise of Donald Trump, they immediately recognized what they were hearing - the spread and mainstreaming of the hate they had helped cultivate - and they knew that they couldn't stay silent. Black traces a uniquely insider account of the rise of white nationalism, and how a child indoctrinated with hate can become an anti-racist adult, committed to combating antisemitism. Black received the Elie Wiesel Award and a humanitarian award from the Anti-Defamation League and will be interviewed by Suzanne Rothenberg, Associate Regional Director of ADL Midwest.

A Jewish Book Council program, sponsored by ADL Midwest

Moshe Basson, head chef of Jerusalem's Eucalyptus Restaurant - Sat, Oct 26 | 7 pm | $36 ($10 with Festival Pass). In his Jerusalem restaurant, internationally renowned master chef Moshe Basson seeks to bring "a modern Israeli interpretation to the Land of Milk and Honey with food from the Bible." Basson opened his first Eucalyptus restaurant in 1986, which he named for the tree he planted one Tu B'Shevat near his family home in Jerusalem. Today, the restaurant is located outside Jerusalem's city walls, in the artists' colony, and reservations are essential. Utilizing his schooling in agriculture and passion for studying ancient script, Basson has incorporated into the restaurant's kosher menu many dishes that are based on foods eaten for many centuries in this region. Enjoy an evening of kosher Israeli food (and open bar!) and a discussion of food, spirituality, and the Holy Land. Basson will be interviewed by Martha Hoover, founder of Won't Stop Hospitality Inc. and six-time James Beard Foundation semifinalist.

A Jewish Book Council program, sponsored by Gadi Boukai Realtor and his team with FC Tucker and Company, and Lauren Zoll and Andy Helmbock.

Indiana Authors Awards Finalists Panel - Sun, Oct 27 | 4 pm | $10. Celebrating the works of local writers, the JCC and Indiana Humanities have curated a star-studded panel of finalists and award-winners from the 2024 Indiana Authors Awards. The panel includes Edward Fujawa, author of Vanished Indianapolis (winner for Nonfiction), Janis Thornton, author of The 1965 Palm Sunday Tornadoes in Indiana (finalist in Nonfiction) and Ray Boomhower as moderator.

Presented in partnership with Indiana Humanities.

Cousins: Siblings of the HeART Art Gallery Reception - Mon, Oct 28 | 5:30 pm | FREE. Spouses Joani & Jeff Rothenberg and their Israeli cousin Yael Buxbaum have been making art together for decades - their collaborations and critiques of each other's work have pushed each of them to become better individual artists as they have been a constant source of inspiration. This exhibition features new works in painting, fused and blown glass, jewelry, mosaics and ceramics. Reception attendees can also join the artists in a hands-on collaboration on a mosaic project for the Damien Center. "Indianapolis has been an ideal incubator for our artistic journey - the city and people have embraced the arts in all forms leading to a richer and more diverse culture," the artists said.

Black, Jewish and Queer with Rabbi Sandra Lawson - Wed, Oct 30 | 7 pm | FREE. A 2018 Reconstructionist Rabbinical College graduate, Sandra Lawson is one of the first African American, queer, female rabbis. As a thought-leader, she has consciously sought to alter the perception of what a rabbi - and the rabbinate - looks like. Lawson sees her multiple identities as an asset and uses her identities as a bridge builder; she is known for tackling difficult questions surrounding Jews and race in podcasts, essays, media appearances and speeches. Her 21st-century rabbinate takes her from nursing homes to cafes to the world of social media where she uses the aspects of her identity to connect with others and models what it means to teach Torah in digital spaces: She has built a following of more than 50,000 people on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok. In 2020, the Forward named Lawson to its "Forward 50" proclaiming her a "truth-teller". She is also the founder of Kol Hapanim - All Faces - an inclusive, Jewish community that is relevant, accessible, and rooted in tradition, where all who come are welcomed and diversity is embraced. Lawson will be interviewed by JCC Indianapolis CEO Sam Dubrinsky.

Presented thanks to the generous donors to the JCC Social Justice Fund, Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, and Indy Pride.

Benyamin Cohen, author of The Einstein Effect - Sat, Nov 2 | 8 pm | $10. Award-winning author and journalist Benyamin Cohen has a bizarre side hustle as the manager of Albert Einstein's official social media accounts, which have 20 million followers ― more than most living celebrities. Cohen shows the myriad ways the Nobel Prize winner still has influence today, from everyday technology (GPS, remote controls, weather forecasts and even toothpaste) to the search for aliens, the rescue of refugees, the invention of time machines and the debunking of fake news. The next time you have a pizza delivered to your home, thank Einstein! Cohen will be interviewed by Max Newman.

A Jewish Book Council program.

Spirit & Place: Alex Kor and Graham Honaker, authors of A Blessing, Not a Burden - Sun, Nov 3 | 4 pm | FREE. As the son of two Holocaust survivors, including Mengele twin Eva Kor, Dr. Alex Kor's life has been a miracle. Kor details his incredible journey, from his unique upbringing to his present-day mission of carrying on his parents' inspiring legacy. From his mother's controversial stance on forgiving the Nazis to his father's unbridled optimism, Kor shares life lessons that have helped him overcome his own hardships along the way. Kor also offers his own perspective on forgiveness as he nurtures his parents' legacies in a world still fraught with discrimination. Interview by Troy Fears, CANDLES Executive Director.

Presented in partnership with CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Hooverwood Living, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis. Part of the Spirit & Place Festival.

Rachel Beanland, author of The House is on Fire - Mon, Nov 4 | 7 pm | $10. This year's Community Reads book, The House is on Fire is a riveting reimagining of one of early America's deadliest tragedies, the Richmond Theater Fire of 1811, told from the perspectives of four characters whose lives are irrevocably altered in the aftermath of the inferno. The book was named a GMA Buzz Pick by Good Morning America and one of NPR's and The New Yorker's Best Books of 2023. Beanland is also the author of Florence Adler Swims Forever; she will be interviewed by Barb Shoup.

A Jewish Book Council program.

Lee Yaron, author of 10/7: 100 Human Stories - Thu, Nov 7 | 7 pm | FREE (prior registration required). A masterful work of investigative journalism by Lee Yaron, acclaimed decade-long reporter for Haaretz (Israel's oldest and most award-winning newspaper), 10/7 chronicles the massacre that ignited a war through the stories of more than 100 civilians, the products of extensive interviews with survivors, the bereaved, and first responders in Israel and beyond. From left-wing kibbutzniks and Burning Man-esque partiers to radical right-wingers, from Bedouins and Israeli Arabs to Thai and Nepalese guest workers, peace activists, elderly Holocaust survivors, refugees from Ukraine and Russia, pregnant women and babies, this is the definitive account of the 10/7 massacre through the stories of its victims and the communities they called home. Yaron will be interviewed by Jamie Ratner Rich.

A Jewish Book Council program, sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council and JCCA Mit-Habrim Connections.

Heartland Award-Winning Shorts - Mon, Nov 11 | 7 pm | $10. A perennial favorite - two great Festivals in one program. Heartland Film will present award-winning shorts, including the hit Indiana-produced Audience Choice Award Winner The Ice Cream Man.

IHC's Justice and Judaism with B.J. Novak - Tue, Nov 12 | 6:30 pm | FREE (prior registration required) | Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation (6501 N. Meridian St.). Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation welcomes co-executive producer, writer, and star of NBC's The Office B.J. Novak to a moderated conversation with Senior Rabbi Brett Krichiver and Cantor Aviva Marer with a VIP reception to follow.