The Borscht Belt Museum is Open for Business; Visit it in Ellenville, New York This Summer

The Borscht Belt Festival in Ellenville, New York, celebrated its fourth year last month. Catskills fans from all over descended on the festival at the Borscht Belt Museum for a dose of nostalgia, Jewish comedy, and classic Jewish food as it was served in the hotels of Sullivan and Ulster Counties.

The festival lasted only for a few days but the museum is open during the summer on Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm. It's closed on Mondays.

The museum is currently featuring a new exhibit called Catskills Romance: Love and Desire in the Borscht Belt. 

It traces the relationships — both conventional and otherwise — that unfolded across the grand hotels and humble bungalow colonies. It celebrates the resort owners, maitre d’s, social directors (tummlers), dance instructors, and staff who masterminded countless successful matches, and explores the beautiful rituals of courtship that defined Catskills summer. The exhibit highlights the essential spaces, activities, and ingredients that sparked connection:  the poolside scene, the Mambo nights and Champagne Hour competitions, and the world-class entertainment that made the resorts irresistible to singles and couples alike.

Beyond the nostalgia, the exhibition uncovers more complex narratives: tales of hidden desire, lost innocence, and the enduring memories guests carried home long after the season ended. Drawing on rare artifacts, vintage photography, oral histories, and the iconic popular culture the era inspired, Catskills Romance offers an intimate, elegant look at a world where tradition and transgression mingled poolside — and a single dance could change a life forever.

The exhibition contains mature content and is not suitable for all ages. Parental discretion is advised.

Here is a the 3-min film that the museum is showing that describes the history of the Catskills resort era. 

Enjoy!