Leyna Krow
Assistant Editor, JTNews
The routine of going out for Chinese food and a movie on Christmas Eve is so ubiquitous among Jews that it seems to have moved from the realm of tradition to cliché. But the problem remains — what to do while everyone celebrates Christmas?
“There’s a void to be filled. All our friends are celebrating. We know that others are celebrating, having family moments, and we want that experience as well. So we’ve hit upon the Chinese food and movie tradition,” said Ari Levitt.
This year, however, Levitt, a 43-year-old Seattle physician, entrepreneur, and dance instructor, has decided to expand on this theme and make it into a community event.
“The idea came about because I was meeting with some friends of mine in the 30-plus demographic and we were talking about what was going on Christmas Eve,” he said.
When no one was able to offer up a suitable answer, Levitt suggested they take matters into their own hands. The result is Moo Shoo, Matzoh Balls, and a Couple of Wise Guys, a night of live music, stand-up comedy, film, and, of course, Chinese food. The event will take place the evening of Dec. 24 (obviously) at the Little Red Bistro in South Lake Union.
Levitt said Moo Shoo, Matzoh Balls, and a Couple of Wise Guys is modeled after an annual Christmas Eve party he had attended in San Francisco called Kung Pow Comedy.
“It’s always very popular, and really a lot of fun, with food and different performers,” he said. “And I thought, why not do something like that here in Seattle?”
Moo Shoo, Matzoh Balls, and a Couple of Wise Guys isn’t Seattle’s first or only Jewish Christmas eve party, of course. For almost 15 years, the Young Leadership Division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle has been hosting Latkepalooza, a night out at a Seattle club for young local Jews to dance their Christmas blues away. This year’s Latkepalooza party, co-hosted by Jconnect, will take place downtown at the Triple Door, with proceeds from the event benefiting after-school programs for children in Kiryat Malachi, Israel.
Cameron Levin, director of YLD, said the facility at the Triple Door allows this year’s Latkepalooza to be a little different from previous parties.
“We will have the whole space for use, so this year is different to other years in that people can actually dine — they have a full meal instead of just nosh,” she said.
Latkepalooza will also feature a screening of the film Showgirls 2, hosted by The Stranger’s associate editor David Schmader prior to the main party.
And as always, there will be plenty of dance music, provided this year by DJ Piha and Team Photogenic.
Still, Latkepalooza may not appeal to everyone.
Levitt said most of his friends felt “they were out of that age bracket and energy level.”
Although Levin stressed that Latkepalooza organizers seek to make the event as inclusive as possible, she noted that the age range of participants has been inconsistent in the past, with some years bringing in partiers of all ages, while other years seem to be dominated by the just-out-of-college crowd. And she allowed there is certainly room for more than one Jewish Christmas Eve party in Seattle.
“Seattle has a history of a lot of different things happening on Christmas Eve. I don’t look at is as any kind of competition,” she said.
Mai Li Pittard, who will be the MC for the music stage at Moo Shoo, Matzoh Balls, and A Couple of Wise Guys, said she wasn’t worried about drawing crowds away from Latkepalooza either.
“Latkepalooza is a dance party where people go drinking. That’s very different from a night of live performance art, music and film,” Pittard said. “I don’t think we’ll be competing over the same people.”
Moo Shoo organizers also stressed that their event is open to all ages, and that kids are invited, at least for the first part of the night.
“Everything before 10:30 p.m. is really family friendly. The late night stuff, maybe a little less so,” Pittard said.
Levitt said that because the party at the Little Red Bistro came together as something of a last-minute affair, most of the performers are either friends of his, or friends of friends. Still, it’s quite an ensemble.
Attendees can expect to hear music from local bands Sasson and The Lathe Symphonic as well as musicians Keith Judelman, Benjamin Gown, Adam Kessler and Aaron Shay. Pittard added that in addition to her hosting duties, she will be performing a musical set as well. A second stage will feature comedy — of a predominantly Jewish nature — by Simon Kaufman, Jack Schaloum and Annie Hughes. The Seattle Jewish Film Festival has offered up one of their 2010 festival films for a sneak preview and Levitt believes a late-night dreidel tournament is not out of the question.
He added that the buffet won’t exactly be the standard Chinese takeout fare. Instead, the meal will be prepared in-house by the Little Red Bistro’s owner, Jeff Hengst. The Little Red Bistro does not have a kosher kitchen, but the buffet will be kosher-style.
“We won’t be serving pork or anything like that,” he said.