LOWER EAST SIDE — An annual cross-cultural festival that celebrates the neighborhood's Jewish and Chinese heritage is adding a little Latin flair.
The annual Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival, hosted by the Museum at Eldridge Street, will add empanadas to the mix for the first time on Sunday as the event expands to include the neighborhood’s Puerto Rican community.
The street fair, now in its 15th year, is more than just an opportunity to sample kosher finger foods and wash it down with an egg cream, said Hanna Griff-Sleven, the museum’s director of cultural programs.
“It’s not a food festival,” Griff-Sleven said. “It really is an exploration of these different traditions through music and art.”
The event will also feature live Chinese opera, klezmer, bomba and plena music as well as art demonstrations in Puerto Rican mask-making, Jewish paper-cutting and Chinese paper folding, Griff-Sleven said.
Other highlights include kids’ crafts, Mah Jongg games, mini language lessons, cooking demonstrations and a tour of the Eldridge Street synagogue, a National Historic Landmark.
The festival will take place Sunday, June 7, from noon to 4 p.m. on Eldridge Street between Canal and Division streets. Admission is free.