Deeply inspired by our recent trip to Caucasus Georgia, Kitka's bringing the spirit of the Georgian ritual supra to our Northern California community!

BELVEDERE, CA / St. Stephen's Church
Saturday, December 7 at 8pm

MENLO PARK, CA / St. Bede's Church
Sunday, December 8 at 4pm

DAVIS, CA / Davis Community Church
Saturday, December 14 at 7:30pm

SANTA CRUZ, CA / Peace United Church
Sunday, December 15 at 7pm

OAKLAND, CA / St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Friday and Saturday, December 20 & 21 at 8pm

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / Old First Concerts
Sunday, December 22 at 4pm

Reservations and more info: kitka.org/events
Advance reservations strongly recommended as Kitka's Wintersongs concerts often sell out!

“Singing illuminates you. It makes you a better person.It elates you and leads you to success in human relationships. Singing is faith and hope. Singing is the greatest form of sustenance. Singing has such a versatile nature… it holds an invincible power that it passes on to others as it flows through us. Let’s drink to singing! Cheers! Victory to singing!”

-A supra toast to singing by Andro Simashvili, Kakhetian songmaster (1923-2019)

For more than two decades, Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble's annual Wintersongs concerts have explored songs from across Eastern Europe that summon the return of light and hope in times of difficulty and darkness.

Kitka's 2024 Wintersongs offering follows the arc of the supra, a traditional Caucasus Georgian ritual feast in which all present are encouraged to contemplate the things in life that uplift and connect us.

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The Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal Presents
Krekhts (10 pm)
Duygu and Friends (8 pm)

$20 general/$15 students. Show starts at 8 pm. Doors open at 7 pm.
All ages before 10 pm. 21+ after 10 pm when kitchen closes. Food, beer and wine available from the bar.

A krekhts (קרעכץ) is a crack – a shrill cry of the clarinet, a break in the voice. An imperfection, but one which comes straight from the heart.

Krekhts is a rough and ready Berkeley psychoklezmer band that sifts through the deep drawers of Klezmer history — from the factory floor to the cheapest seats in the Second Avenue cabaret, to the Borscht Belt and the Yiddish radio. They play frenetic bulgars and soul-wrenching ballads in mameloshn (Yiddish), medineh-loshn (English) and loshnkoydesh (Hebrew). Mike Tal (guitar), Binya Kóatz (vocals), Atid Kimelman (clarinet), Aaron Goldstein (drums/vocals), Daniel Goldberg (alto sax), and Seng Chen (bass) forge gelt from the Yiddish past to pave the way towards the joyously liberated Yiddish future. Featuring special guest Ilya Kreymer on accordion.

Duygu & Friends is a dynamic ensemble celebrating the music of Anatolia and the Aegean, offering folksy interpretations of Turkish popular and classical songs. With its evolving lineup and creative collaborations, the group brings fresh energy to traditional sounds. For their upcoming performance at the Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal, the core duo Duygu Gün on guitar and vocals, and Peter Bonos on oud and trumpet, will be joined by Faisal Zedan on percussion and Marco Ghezzo on violin, accompanied by captivating belly dancing by Melike Şengül.

Duygu Gün is a musician, community advocate, creative producer, and cultural connector dedicated to preserving and sharing folk traditions. She was raised in Mersin, Türkiye and is currently based in San Francisco, California.

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Balkan New Year’s Eve at Ashkenaz is back! Come ring in the New Year with three amazing live bands, dancing all night, champagne, and an energetic family friendly party!

Balkan New Years Eve | Tuesday December 31st, 2024
BANDS: True Life Trio, Fanfare Zambaleta, and Dodona!
GENRE: Balkan
DOORS OPEN: 8:00 PM
SHOW BEGINS: 8:30 PM
Tickets available at www.ashkenaz.com/#/events
Advance tickets available until the day of the show!

FREE ADMISSION for kids 12 and under!

New Year’s Eve at Ashkenaz is traditionally a night of Balkan music and dancing in honor of the late Ashkenaz founder David Nadel and the music he first featured at his world dance club. It is known to go until the very late hours!

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