Boulder Jewish News Arts, Culture, Events, Lifestyles, Holidays, Synagogues, Education
Mimouna is a traditional festival celebrated by Moroccan Jews the day after Passover, marking the return to eating chametz (leavened foods). Families open their homes to neighbors and friends, and fill their kitchen tables with an abundance of delicious sweets symbolizing fertility, joy, success, health, and prosperity. Mimouna is the beginning of the spring season and a time to celebrate friendship, community, coexistence, luck, and good fortune. When I lived in Israel, it was a widely celebrated holiday. In fact, data from a 2012 survey of the country showed two million people participating in the festivities. However, in the US the holiday is rarely celebrated, until now.
A few years ago I started to see people celebrating it in other communities in the US- the Bay Area’s Urban Adamah has a big Mimouna party every year to commemorate the end of Passover. This year, we decided that it was time to bring this festive holiday to Boulder! We’re choosing to partner with River and Woods, led by Josh Dinar and Daniel Asher, as the restaurant and its owners are known for finding new modern twists on classic family/cultural recipes – Jewish or not. They also are committed to making our food system better – working with local producers to ensure the tastiest and most sustainable ingredients are used in their food.
This year’s Mimouna menu at River and Woods includes a variety of traditional North African dishes, served with a Colorado twist. Guests can expect to feast on dishes like Moroccan olives, dolmas, Baba ganoush with pomegranate molasses, couscous, and of course a big tray of leavened desserts!
We hope you will celebrate with us this year. All are welcome. Saturday, April 27 | 7:30 pm | $80 for adults, $36 for children under 8 (Price includes multi-course meal and a drink) | REGISTER HERE by Wednesday.
