Mimouna Festival of Good Neighbors at the Smithsonian, April 24

SHIN-DC  & the Smithsonian NMAA Present:

MIMOUNA AT THE SMITHSONIAN; SHIN-DC’s 8th Annual Festival of Good Neighbors

Sunday, April 24, 7:30-10PM (Eastern Time)

Free (In Person or Virtual) 

In Person at the National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Ave SW DC 20560

Celebrate Mimouna and Break the Fast of Ramadan with Us. All are welcome!

Enjoy live music by Muslim and Jewish artists from Israel, Morocco, and the US

Live cooking demos by Chefs Rachell Bitton and Doron Azrad

Eat traditional Jewish-Moroccan foods

  • Moufletta – thin and delicate Moroccan style crepes with the traditional accompaniments (Kosher Sustenance)
  • Assorted Moroccan Sweets (Something French Bakery)
  • Moroccan Nana (Mint) Tea (Kosher Sustenance)
  • Harira Soup Sip (Kosher Sustenance)

Special tour of artworks that express the interfaith and neighborly themes inspired by the Mimouna festival.

Questions? Email in**@sh****.org

Co-Sponsors: The Embassy of Israel in Washington,  The State of Maryland, Casablanca Travel & Tours, Dr. Kenneth X. Robbins, Washington Moroccan American Club. Representatives of the Embassy of Morocco will be in attendance.

This event has ended. For more info or video of the event, please email in**@sh****.org .

Mimouna is an African Jewish tradition that is most associated with Morocco and Moroccan Jewry. This festival marks the end of Passover with the first leavened foods, festive sweets and wishes for a successful season. 
 
Mimouna is associated with good neighbors because traditionally Jews would open their homes to celebrate with the neighborhood. It is also associated with good neighbors because when Passover ended at night (before modern day supermarkets), Jews did not have leaven in their homes to celebrate and sometimes non-Jews would provide those ingredients, allowing them to celebrate together. As a result, Mimouna has also developed in some cultural spaces as a symbol of interfaith unity and co-existence around the world, including SHIN-DC’s Annual Mimouna at the Smithsonian.
Sephardic Heritage International (SHIN-DC) celebrates “Mimouna at the Smithsonian” and in 2021, the Israeli and Moroccan embassies in Washington hosted their first-ever joint Mimouna celebration in partnership with SHIN-DC and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art. Israel has the largest population of Moroccan Jews in the world, followed by France, Canada and the United States.

This event has ended. For more info or video of the event, please email in**@sh****.org .