Events
Where Community Comes Together
From joyful holiday celebrations to meaningful fundraisers and signature annual traditions, events at the Minnesota JCC bring our community together all year long. We host unforgettable experiences that inspire connection, celebrate culture, and support the programs that matter most. Whether you’re joining us for a longtime favorite or discovering something new, every event is designed to be welcoming, engaging, and impactful. There’s always something worth celebrating at the JCC.
Upcoming Events
Mon, Apr 27 | 1:00 PM | Capp
Bingo at the J (Capp Center St. Paul)
Adult Bingo at the J! Join us for an afternoon of prizes and fun. Everyone is welcome to attend. We hope to see you there!
Pay in person via check or credit card.
Questions? Contact Irit at iritv@minnesotajcc.org.
Thu, Apr 30 | 1:30 PM | Sabes JCC
Bingo at the J (Sabes Center Minneapolis)
Adult Bingo at the J! Join us for an afternoon of prizes and fun. Everyone is welcome to attend. We hope to see you there!
Pay in person via check or credit card.
Questions? Contact Irit at iritv@minnesotajcc.org.
Sun, May 3 | 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Sabes JCC
Violins of Hope Opening Night + Reception – Community & Continuity: Voices of Hope in Dark Times
The Minnesota JCC is honored to host the opening event of Violins of Hope—an internationally acclaimed exhibition that brings restored Holocaust-era instruments, and the stories they carry, to communities around the world.
Join us for an evening of music and spoken reflection exploring how communities endure, fracture, and rebuild. Featuring the Minnesota JCC Symphony Orchestra and prominent community voices, the program moves from belonging to rupture and, ultimately, toward renewal—illuminating how music can preserve memory and deepen our sense of shared responsibility. Through orchestral works, oral histories, and readings, this interdisciplinary event celebrates cultural connection and our shared humanity. Audiences are invited to reflect on the resilience of community in times of fear and uncertainty, and to consider how continuity itself can become an act of hope and resistance.
Minnesota JCC Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Dr. Mark Elliot Bergman
Special Guests:
Avshi Weinstein, Co-Founder of Violins of Hope
Pastor Babette Chapman, University Pastor, Augsburg University
Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri endowed chair and executive director of Interfaith Programs at Augsburg University
Followed by an opening reception hosted by RBC Wealth Management.
Sun, May 3 | Minnesota JCC
Violins of Hope Exhibition at the Minnesota JCC: Violins and Hope – From the Holocaust to Symphony Hall
The Minnesota JCC is proud to present Violins and Hope – From the Holocaust to Symphony Hall an extraordinary exhibition built around the internationally renowned project and its moving collection of restored string instruments once played by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust. Each violin carries a deeply personal story—bearing witness to one of history’s darkest chapters while honoring those who faced unimaginable adversity and the resilience of individuals who turned to music as a source of solace, survival, and defiance.
The exhibition also features work by Daniel Levin, the first photographer to document— with remarkable depth—both the collection of violins that survived the Holocaust and the artful process of restoring them. Through hauntingly beautiful photographs and compelling text, Violins and Hope – From the Holocaust to Symphony Hall brings these instruments and their histories into vivid presence, inviting visitors to experience the violins up close, learn about the musicians who once played them, and engage in broader conversations about cultural memory, the persistence of antisemitism, and why remembrance matters. This exhibition is both a memorial and a celebration—of Jewish culture, identity, and the unbreakable human spirit.
FREE
On display at the Minnesota JCC’s Capp Center in St. Paul and Sabes Center in Minneapolis from May 3 – June 29, 2026.
Tue, May 5 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Temple Israel
Temple Israel Annual Fundraiser Voices: An Evening with Violinist Itzhak Perlman
Temple Israel’s annual fundraiser, Voices: Ideas for our Time, presents an evening with violinist Itzhak Perlman in collaboration with Violins of Hope. Itzhak Perlman is one of the most celebrated violinists of our time and a 16-time Grammy Award winner. Renowned for his extraordinary artistry, warmth, and humanity, he has performed with every major orchestra and in leading concert halls around the world, captivating audiences with both his virtuosity and his joy for making music.
COST: $50 (+) | General Admission
Fri, May 8 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM | TBD
Shabbat for the Soul Featuring Violins of Hope
This month’s Shabbat for the Soul features instruments from the Violins of Hope collection — violins, violas, and cellos that once belonged to Jewish musicians during the Holocaust, now restored by Israeli luthiers Amnon and Avshi Weinstein. As our musicians lead us in song, these instruments bring their own layer of memory and meaning into the room. The intimate, contemplative spirit of Shabbat for the Soul feels like a natural home for music that carries this kind of history — inviting us to listen not only with our ears, but with our full hearts.
FREE
No registration required.