Simcha on the Square

This Sunday 14 September, Trafalgar Square in central London hosts the second annual Simcha on the Square festival celebrating Jewish life and culture. Last year’s event was organized to mark the 350th anniversary of the resettlement of Jews in England. They’d been banished from the country in 1290 by King Edward I but were allowed to return in 1656 by Oliver Cromwell.

Simcha is a hebrew word for celebration and Sunday’s event features an eclectic range of Jewish performers from Britain, Europe and Israel including the Scottish group Moishe’s Bagel playing Jewish Klezmer music, Israeli female singer Mor Karbasi singing in Hebrew, English and Spanish while fusing Sephardic, African and Flamenco rhythms, and Elvis Shmelvis with his Jewish flavoured rock and roll.

There’s also Jewish Folk Dancing, choir and choral music, Greek and Turkish Jewish Music and the cast of Fiddler on the Roof performing the show’s bottle dance. As well as all the acts on stage they’ll be exhibitions and stalls selling Jewish crafts, cultural items, art books and CDs and stalls selling a variety of Jewish food. Simcha on the Square is on from 12 noon-6pm and is free to attend.