Glove Theatre screening: Rise and Fall of the Borscht Belt
Glove Theatre presents screening of “Rise and Fall of the Borscht Belt”
Sunday, May 4th
Aaron Enfield will interview Jay Blotcher of the newly created Catskills Borscht Belt Museum
GLOVERSVILLE, NEW YORK – (April 16, 2025) – An afternoon screening and discussion at the Glove Theatre in Gloversville will explore the fascinating history of the area of the Catskills Mountains once known as the Borscht Belt.
The Glove Theatre Education Series will offer a FREE screening of Rise and Fall of the Borscht Belt on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. Following the screening, Glove Theatre Board Member Aaron Enfield will explore the history of the Borscht Belt with Jay Blotcher, a board member of the newly opened Catskills Borscht Belt Museum in Ellenville, NY.
Blotcher is the programmer for the museum’s inaugural Borscht Belt Film Fest, which took place this past November. Enfield previously worked with the film festival circuit, including the Hamptons International Film Festival, the Nantucket Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival, and the Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center Film Festival.
Rise and Fall of the Borscht Belt
Rise and Fall of the Borscht Belt is a 1986 documentary by Oscar-winning director Peter Davis. The 80-minute film recounts the meteoric growth of this fabled section of the Catskill Mountains in Sullivan and Ulster Counties. Starting in the 1920s, it became a summer retreat and sanctuary for millions of Jews, primarily from the New York City area. These Jewish-owned establishments were a welcome alternative to the anti-Semitic hotels that routinely turned away Jewish vacationers.
From the 1950s through the 1980s, this sprawling region of bed and breakfast farmhouses, bungalow colonies, and resort hotels numbered in the several hundreds. This mountain paradise drew people from all over the Eastern Seaboard. The Borscht Belt was famed for its social scene, epic food spreads, and its entertainment. The Borscht Belt was the launching pad for iconic stand-up comics, such as Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers, Alan King, Billy Crystal, and Jerry Seinfeld.
“As part of our Strategic Plan, the Glove Theatre is committed to showcasing the historical legacy of communities in the region, including the Jewish population of Gloversville,” says Aaron Enfield, theatre Board Member. “While some Jewish families would vacation in Sacandaga Park, later the Great Sacandaga Lake, local families would also spend time traveling from the Southern Adirondacks to the Southern Catskills to vacation with family, work at various resorts, and in at least one case, operate one of the resorts.”
