Local News
Two years after its last live performance Chai to perform at gala concert June 16
Jewish Foundation to be honoured during concert for the tremendous support it’s given to Jewish organizations during the pandemic
By BERNIE BELLAN The Chai Folk Ensemble is now in its 58th year of existence. After a more than two year absence from performing live in front of an audience, Chai is set to make its long awaited return to the stage when it will be performing a gala concert at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre on June 16.
We spoke with Chai artistic (and vocal) director David Vamos recently to catch up with what’s been happening with Chai during the most prolonged hiatus that the group has ever taken.
David said that, while the pandemic had taken a toll on almost all artists, especially dance groups, Chai has weathered the storm. One of the reasons, he explained, is the continuity in its leadership. Reeva Nepon has continued as Chai’s administrative director, Jesse Popeseki as music director, while Rachel Cooper, who took over the role of dance director in 2018, also remains in that role.
“Not only is she dance director,” David said, “she does original work for the group.”
David Vamos himself has had a very long run with Chai. Currently a music teacher at Gray Academy (where he’s been for 10 years now, he said), David actually joined Chai in 2002 as a singer. He became vocal director in 2006, assistant artistic director in 2012, music director in 2014, and finally artistic director in 2015.
I mentioned to David that I was going to be running a story in our upcoming issue (which was the March 30 issue) about the Zylberman family, and that I learned from Marta and Mauricio Zylberman that all three of their kids – Ariel, Leandro, and Melina, had been members of Chai. I said that was indicative of the longstanding heritage role that Chai has played within our community.
I asked David when was the last time Chai actually put on a live performance in front of an audience?
“Our last one,” he answered, “was in the fall of 2019, following our tour of Ukraine and Israel – with Rusalka. We did a homecoming concert that fall. We haven’t done a large scale performance since. We were fortunate to perform at the Simkin Centre right before lockdown in 2020.”
David noted, however, that “we recorded an album that spring – in 2020, which was pretty incredible. We finished it the Sunday right before the whole province shut down. Now, after two years, we are finally ready to release it and perform (the music from that album at) the Chai Gala.”
I asked whether “the troupe has been rehearsing throughout the pandemic?”
While dancers have been rehearsing, David explained, singers only started back the first week in April, due to the easy transmissibility of Covid when singing. As well, “the band didn’t really get together other than doing some virtual work,” he added.
Yet, as David put it, “the dancers have shown an incredible amount of tenacity. They have been rehearsing – performing at all sorts of different venues and under different guidelines. It’s been an unbelievable story of adjusting the past two years – being out of our studio for a while, and then the Berney (Theatre),” combined “with different distancing (rules) and different masks.”
Currently, David said, “we have 14 dancers, seven singers and six people in the band.”
Of the dancers, 12 are women and two are men, David said. “Almost all of them came to us during the pandemic,” he added. “A lot of them are from professional backgrounds who were just looking for an opportunity to rehearse and perform again. We’re really fortunate. I know a lot of other groups that were really hard hit, but we’ve stayed at a really respectable number” (of dancers).
Most of Chai’s dancers are either high school or university students, David noted, adding “a lot have come from Gray Academy.”
As for the singers, David said that “all our choral members are coming back – which is amazing.”
Turning to what audience members can expect at the June 16 concert, David said “it will be a dual purpose event. We’ll be releasing our new album that night.” The performance, he added “will be a completed work, from beginning to end.”
“At the same time,” David observed, “we will be honouring the Jewish Foundation for its contributions to the Winnipeg Jewish community – and specifically how it was able to keep so many of our agencies afloat over the last two years.”
One of the projects that Chai was able to undertake during the pandemic – thanks to the Jewish Foundation, “was to film three professional music videos,” David said. One of the videos shot was at the St. Norbert ruins.
I asked David, “Will you be gearing up for Folklorama after the concert or is there anything else you have planned in between? ”It’s seven weeks in between,” he noted. “We’re just going to be turning around and prepping for Folklorama.”
As far as joining Chai goes, David says that Chai holds auditions throughout the year and anyone interested in joining, whether as a dancer, musician, or singer, is asked to check out their website: chai.ca.
Local News
Nakba exhbit at CMHR – you can see it right here and make your own assessment
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted June 26, updated July 19) The Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Exhibit for Human Rights opened to the public June 27. The morning before the exhibit was set to open to the public, (it had a private opening for invited guests the evening of June 26) we received a press release from the CMHR. That press release gave a very detailed description of what was in the exhibit, along with photos (supplied by Annie Kierans of the CMHR).
There is also a link right at the beginning of the press release that will allow you to watch the same videos that anyone attending the exhibit can watch. We reprinted what was sent to us without making one edit. We leave it to you to form your own opinion as to whether the exhibit is fair in its presentation, and whether it is lacking “context” – which is an accusation that has been levelled at the exhibit’s organizers by some representatives of Jewish organizations.
We have received many emails in reaction to the exhibit. If you have an opinion and would like to see it published on this website, you can send it to jewishp@mymts.net, but please indicate whether you would be willing to have it published on this website.
Here is what we received the morning of June 26:
Winnipeg, MB — June 26, 2026 — The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will open a new exhibit tomorrow that explores human rights violations related to the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian Canadians.
Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present will be on display in the Rights Today gallery on Level 5 until 2028. Featuring personal stories told through artifacts and video testimonies, the exhibit presents Palestinian Canadians reflecting on their ongoing struggle for human rights. The small exhibit reveals enduring patterns of loss and resilience, helping visitors understand more about this contemporary human rights story.
Palestinian Canadian stories are now included alongside many other stories of forced displacement and human rights violations featured in the Museum’s galleries. Each of these stories contribute to our visitors understanding of human rights and help the Museum fulfill its mandate to foster reflection and dialogue.
Exhibition highlights
Personal stories and artifacts: Experience firsthand accounts from Palestinian Canadians sharing their journeys of displacement and memory through a series of five artifacts. Cases display artifacts like property deeds, house keys, and a traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, accompanied by short videos that deepen understanding of the impacts of displacement.
Powerful artworks: In her painting Bound Together in Gaza, Malak Mattar, a Gazan artist, captures the struggles and resilience of her generation shaped by conflict. Her work pays homage to Guernica, Picasso’s powerful masterpiece depicting civilian suffering during war.
Curfews and Closures, by Rajie Cook, bears witness to life under military occupation during the 2000–2005 Palestinian uprising, when curfews and closures were expanded and further limited basic rights and freedoms.
Cultural heritage: Discover traditional Palestinian embroidery called tatreez. Tatreez motifs and colours are tied to place, family history and regional identity. Patterns are associated with particular towns, villages or areas of Palestine. In this way, tatreez is a form of storytelling: a way of preserving memory, sustaining identity and expressing resilience across displacement and exile.
Poetry and reflection: Engage with Mahmoud Darwish’s evocative verses, inspiring personal reflection on exile, voice, and responsibility. Visitors can take a card containing Darwish’s poem and add a personal note, fostering ongoing dialogue beyond the exhibit.
Contemporary context: Witness striking images of current events in Gaza and the West Bank, connecting past displacement to ongoing struggles.
Quotes:
“No force can silence the truth we carry. Growing up in Canada, my children lived the Nakba through our stories. And now we watch it happen again, live, on our phones. When I see the images coming out of Gaza, I am not watching the news. I am watching my history repeat itself.” -Fouad Sahyoun, a Palestinian Canadian featured in the exhibit
“We developed this exhibit with a clear awareness that Palestinian Canadian voices have too often been marginalized, silenced or spoken over — and that anti-Palestinian racism affects whose stories are heard and whose suffering is recognized. That is why we intentionally centred Palestinian Canadian voices throughout the exhibit.” -Isabelle Masson, Curator of Palestine Uprooted
“Human rights matter precisely when they are inconvenient, when the question of who deserves the dignity of having their rights recognized is genuinely contested. These are the moments where having a national museum for human rights is most important.
There are people who believe this exhibit should not exist in its current form. There are people who believe it should have existed sooner. There are people who will visit this exhibit and feel that it does not say enough, and others who will feel it says too much.
We have listened to every one of these voices. We have reflected. And we have renewed our resolve to continue the difficult, sometimes contested, and often controversial work of building understanding about human rights. We are a museum grounded in Canada’s human rights framework, whose mandate requires us to bear witness to the full complexity of the human story. We are proud to open this exhibit because the story it tells will help achieve that mandate, and because this story belongs in the collective memory of Canadians.”
- – Isha Khan, CEO
Local News
A photo that’s being circulated on the internet about me
For those of you not familiar with nutjob Michael Kalo – the psycho who created the notorious “$hitler’s List” years ago and the same psycho who went after Ben Carr, well – now he’s obviously taken a strong disliking to the stance I’ve taken on the Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. (You can read elsewhere on this website how I simply posted the entire exhibit as it is – and asked readers to form their own opinions.)
Kalo likes to send out emails to various individual using phony names – such as Frank Ostrowski. When people ask me (or asked Ben Carr) why we don’t take action against him, my answer is: What’s the use? He only basks in the attention.
So Michael – enjoy the attention you’re receiving. I know how much of an embarrassment you are to your wonderfully talented daughters.
Local News
Ami Hassan returning as owner of Falafel Place
By BERNIE BELLAN In a surprise move – and after more than a six-year absence as owner of Falafel Place (Corydon at Wilton) the legendary Ami Hassan has decided to return as owner of one of Winnipeg’s most famous eateries.
Long known for his sometimes irreverent attitude to his customers, e.g., “If you’re finished, get out!”, Ami decided to return to running Falafel Place after having retired years ago (or so he thought) from running the Corydon Avenue restaurant.
We asked Ami whether he’ll be sending a special invitation to Julia Roberts to come visit him at Falafel Place. He asked again: “Who’s Julia Roberts?” (Just kidding – he really does know how Julia Roberts is.) Read the story how Ami told her to leave the restaurant and come back later at Julia Roberts turned away from Falafel Place
Ami did note that when customers saw him inside the restaurant one recent day as he was getting it ready for the reopening Monday, August 10, over 20 of them came in asking him if he was open already.
We asked Ami whether the menu will be the same as it was when he last ran the place and he said everything will be the same.
Falafel Place will be open 7 days a week from 7 am – 2 pm. Remember, if you’re finished – get out!
