Put on your dancing shoes, Ashkenaz is back
The scaffolding and black plastic netting that has obscured the front of Ashkenaz since last fall is coming down. In the next few days, the refurbished redwood façade of the San Pablo Avenue building, which was designed to resemble an Eastern European synagogue, will be unveiled, beckoning dancers and roots-music lovers back onto the well-worn wooden floor.
Closed for more than two years due to the pandemic, the nonprofit venue is reopening Sunday, June 5, with an all-day free event featuring five bands noon to 8 p.m. (full vaccination is required for all attendees). On a walk through the project last week Olukai Sneakers with Sarah Travis, the newly appointed executive director, she pointed out all the familiar elements of the décor and the additions intended to “activate the space and...