Ashreynu, the Jewish community center at 31-21 31st Street in Astoria, is hosting what it calls the first Bukharian Ikat Arts Festival in Astoria on Sunday, Nov. 1, starting at 11 a.m. The day is built around ikat, the resist-dyed silk and cotton cloth that Bukharian Jews carried from Central Asia, and around the food and objects that travel with it.

What is on the program

The festival has four parts, according to Ashreynu's own listing. Aron Aronov of the Bukharian Museum leads a pop-up exhibit and gives a talk. Mama Liza, the Queens maker of Bukharian foods, brings samples and jars to take home. Studio Shoshan runs art workshops inspired by ikat patterns. And a private collection of Bukharian jomas, the long robes cut from ikat cloth, goes on display.

The workshops are hands-on, so the day works for children and adults alike, and the exhibit gives visitors a chance to see traditional robes up close rather than behind glass.

What ikat is

Ikat is made by tying off sections of thread and dyeing them before the cloth is woven, so the pattern is set into the yarn rather than printed on the finished fabric, which gives ikat its soft, slightly blurred edges. The festival's robe collection and the Bukharian Museum exhibit show how the cloth was cut and worn.

Who is behind it

The festival is hosted by Ashreynu and Yesodot. The Long Island City Partnership's events calendar lists its funders as a UJA-Federation of New York Mesora Bridges grant, which supports programs bringing Bukharian and other Jewish communities together, along with the Queens Jewish Community Council and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

How to go

When: Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, from 11 a.m.

Where: Ashreynu, 31-21 31st Street, Astoria.

Tickets: Through the Get Tickets link on Ashreynu's culture page.

Getting there: The N and W trains stop at 30th Avenue, a short walk from 31st Street.

Sources