Where community gathers to celebrate the laughter and legacy of the Borscht Belt.
Where the laughs are loud, the stories are rich, and the legacy lives on. Our events celebrate Borscht Belt comedy, music, and culture through live performances, conversations, and unforgettable moments—past, present, and future.
Borscht Belt Architecture: Designs of the Jewish Alps with Alex Prizgintas
Sunday, March 8 at 2:00PM
The Borscht Belt Museum, 90 Canal Street, Ellenville, NY
Transitioning from his introductory “Borscht Belt Artifacts” program, this part two program highlights the legacy of interior and exterior architecture that defined the Borscht Belt Catskills. Following the “Silver Age” hotels of Victorian style that defined the late 19th century, new Jewish hotels, bungalow colonies, and growing resorts added their own influences to existing structures. Several movements in architecture, such as Sullivan County Mission Style and Sullivan County Tudor Style designs, gained a popular reputation in the Borscht Belt. Then, in the 1950s, the wave of Mid-Century Modern influences within this region of New York set the tone for hotel designs on a national scale. Using postcards, photographs, images from antique brochures, and modern-day scenes, Alex Prizgintas reveals how this architecture helped to define elements of the quintessential Borscht Belt experience from room design to recreational activities, entertainment, outdoor landscape, and what architecture features can still be seen today.
Join Alex Prizgintas with the Borscht Belt Museum on Sunday, March 8th at 2:00 PM to view “Borscht Belt Architecture: Designs of the Jewish Alps.” Since Prizgintas began collecting items from the Borscht Belt ten years ago, awareness for this crucial aspect of our local past has rapidly expanded with the opening of the Borscht Belt Museum in Ellenville, the ongoing Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project, and a number of both films as well as books that have been published. “Seeing this history finally receiving the recognition it deserves is incredibly rewarding, and I am honored to be a part of this new chapter for the memories of the Borscht Belt.”
No reservation required.
Suggested Donation $15
The Lucky Guess Game Show with Ron MacCloskey
Sunday, March 22 at 2:00 PM
The Borscht Belt Museum, 90 Canal Street, Ellenville, NY
Get ready for a 100% family-friendly, fully interactive live game show experience.
Hosted by Ron MacCloskey, this original trivia competition unfolds in an exciting horse race format. Three contestants answer multiple-choice questions drawn from mystery boxes labeled Odds On and Even Up. Hidden “Dark Horse” questions are worth double moves down the track, adding strategy, suspense, and plenty of laughs.
Complete with a custom-built racetrack, themed podium, signage, costumes, and a tuxedo-clad host, this program brings the energy of a classic television game show to life. The first contestant to cross the finish line advances to the Winners Circle for a final four-question lightning round and a chance to win the coveted Lucky Guess Cup.
Perfect for all ages and packed with audience participation.
No reservations required.
Suggested Donation: $15
When Showbiz Went to Shul: CATSKILLS CANTORS
Sunday, Mar. 29 at 2:00 PM
The Borscht Belt Museum, 90 Canal Street, Ellenville, NY
Not everybody came to the Borscht Belt for Borscht
In addition to copious amount of food, Borscht Belt hotels enticed vacationers with famous singers and comedians. But during the Jewish holidays, the hotel nightclubs also functioned as synagogues as hotels would compete for who had the top cantors! (Catskills Cantors Fun Fact: Metropolitan Opera stars Richard Tucker and Jan Peerce were among the famous figures who served as Catskills cantors.)
Join historian HENRY SAPOZNIK (The Tourist’s Guide to Lost Yiddish New York City), pop culture expert DANNY FINGEROTH (Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero)—both sons of Catskills Cantors—and Cantor AVI ZABLOCKI for an entertaining, inspiring—and musical—panel that explores the history and sociology of this showbiz-spiritual phenomenon through personal reminiscences and period recordings and ephemera.
No reservations required.
Suggested Donation: $15
Saturday, March 21, 2026, at 7:00PM and 9:30PM
Shadowland Stages Studio, 114 Market St, Ellenville.
Judy Gold has had stand-up specials on HBO, Comedy Central and LOGO. She was a part of Netflix's Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration. She is the author of Yes I Can Say That: When They Come For The Comedians, We Are All In Trouble, a critically acclaimed book about free speech and cancel culture which debuted as the number one comedy release on Amazon and was featured in the New York Times Book Review. Judy is also host of the hit podcast, Kill Me Now with Judy Gold.
Judy TV acting credits include, City On A Hill (Cassndra Kassell), FX’s Better Things (Chaya). Showtime's The First Lady (Elizabeth Read). Judy also guest stars as Sophie in the much-anticipated Apple TV+ drama series Extrapolations. Other guest stars include Hulu’s Life and Beth, and Season 2 of Peacock’s Girls 5 Eva. She has had recurring roles on Comedy Central's Awkwafina, Netflix’s Friends from College and TBS’ Search Party. Her recent film credits include Love Reconsidered and the upcoming She Came To Me, and Eternal Buzz.
Judy is one of the main subjects in the Hulu documentary Hysterical. She has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show. From 1999-2010, Judy was the host of HBO’s At the Multiplex with Judy Gold. Judy also won two Emmy awards for writing and producing The Rosie O’Donnell Show. She was also a writer on the final season of Better Things.
Judy has written and starred in two critically acclaimed, Off-Broadway hit shows: The Judy Show – My Life as a Sitcom (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), and 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother (GLAAD Media Award – Outstanding NY Theater, Drama Desk Nomination – Actor). Judy received rave reviews as Gremio in The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park all-female production of The Taming of The Shrew. She also co-starred in Off-Broadway’s Clinton! The Musical, and Disaster! The Musical.
Judy has made numerous appearances on The View, The Today Show, The Drew Barrymore Show, and on MSNBC, CNN and NewsNation as free-speech advocate. She often pops up on The Food Network, but please do not mention Chopped All Stars or Rachel vs. Guy to her.
Judy’s three albums, Conduct Unbecoming, Kill Me Now and Judith’s Roommate Had a Baby are available wherever you get your music. You can also check out her website, JudyGold.com or follow her on Twitter, Instagram or Tik Tok - @jewdygold
Borscht Belt Comedy Club
at Shadowland Stages
The laughs are back in the Catskills! Join us at Shadowland Stages for the Borscht Belt Comedy Club, happening every third Saturday of the month in beautiful Ellenville.
Discover upcoming live comedy events below.
