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Regrammed to 450k followers by Celebrity Chef Tyler Florence on set at America’s Great Food Truck Race!
Value Culture head Adam Swig comes up with ‘Willie Mays Day 2-4-24’ and it goes viral.
Value Culture featured by San Francisco Magazine
Speaking on TVP WORLD TALKS
Featured by the New York Times
Press on The Afikomen NFT by fnnch (Concept by Adam Swig (Value Culture), Dr. Mikey Fischer (Stanford), & fnnch :
Protestors fail to disrupt our shabbat event at a synagogue featuring a peace presentation by Miss Israel
AAPI LOVE FEATURED IN PRESS ACROSS THE US
“Let My People Pho” Passover celebration at Le Colonial highlighted by the Jewish News of Northern California!
Goat My Valentine 2023 in the news!
Miss Catherine Bigelow Nob Hill Gazzette
Boing Boing: Weirdo goat fashion show wows and confuses crowd in San Francisco
The Knockturnal: I Goat You Babe: San Francisco Goat Fashion Show Brings ...
NBC News (Television)
ABC News (Television)
FOX News (Television)
SF Standard: There’s a Goat Fashion Show Happening on Valentine’s Day in This SF Neighborhood
Secret San Francisco Top Valentines Day Event
SF Examiner: Love and Livestock
SF Weekly: Five under $20: Valentine's Day in San Francisco edition
SF Standard Top 9 things to do on Valentines Day
Secret San Francisco 10 epic anti Valentines Day Events (#4)
SF Chronicle Things to do this Valentine’s Day
Secret San Francisco 22 Lovely Things To Do This Valentine’s Day In San Francisco (#4)
Brooklyn rapper Kosha Dillz made the crowd holla for challah at BottleRock Napa Valley’s Culinary Stage on Friday, May 27, kicking off the festival with the first-ever Shabbottlerock.
The rapper began the 1 p.m. performance with a Jewish-themed version of the Notorious B.I.G. ’90s hit “Big Poppa,” replacing part of the chorus to say, “I love it when you eat my challah,” a nod to the traditional braided bread eaten on ceremonial Jewish occasions like Shabbat.
“This is so fun,” said Harmonies Wexler of Corte Madera, who made it to the celebration with her husband and son. “It’s a great way to kick off the weekend, and I love the name ‘Shabbottlerock.’ ”
Dillz, who also performed on the festival’s Truly Stage at noon and at 2:30 p.m. on the VIP stage, alongside Adam Swig, founder of the San Francisco nonprofit Value Culture, led the crowd through three Hebrew prayers traditionally recited on Shabbat: the lighting of the candles, the blessing of the wine — to which the crowd joined in for a toast and proclaimed “L’chaim!” — and the blessing of the challah bread.
But before the bread blessing, Dillz brought out a trumpet player for a big reveal: a giant challah loaf made in partnership with two Bay Area bakeries. The performers then tossed smaller challah loaves out into the crowd for people to share; Wexler caught one of them.
To close out the short service, Dillz performed his song “Schmoozin’.” The rapper and Swig said they hope to make Shabbottlerock an annual occurrence at the festival.
Kosha Dillz (left) and Adam Swig light candles during their performance at the first day of Bottlerock Napa Valley.Photo: Jungho Kim / Special to The Chronicle
In April, Dillz performed Passover seders at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Southern California, complete with boiled eggs and horseradish.
Want more of Dillz? You can catch him as part of the cast on MTV’s “Wild N’ Out,” hosted by Nick Cannon, on June 21.
Check back in for more updates from BottleRock Napa Valley 2022.
Jess LanderJess Lander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jess.lander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jesslander
Adam Swig, the local Jewish events promoter behind Value Culture, was joined by his frequent collaborator, the New York–based rapper Kosha Dillz, for Shabbottlerock, an event at the BottleRock Napa Valley music festival in May. Their opening act at one of the stages consisted of Shabbat freestyle rap, lighting Shabbat candles and presenting a giant challah from Frena Bakery in San Francisco festooned with “BottleRock 2022.” Eighteen smaller challahs from Grand Bakery in Oakland were thrown into the crowd. “I was walking by … and all of the sudden I heard Hebrew prayers and saw challahs flying through the air!” a Value Culture press release quoted an event attendee named Laura saying. “It was great! My grandmother would have been proud I was at a Shabbat at BottleRock.”
Executive Director of Value Culture Adam Swig Honored with the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for Young Leadership
"Adam Swig is a leader and trendsetter in cutting-edge Jewish leadership. Not only is Adam thinking with innovative fashion for San Francisco, but as the world stopped, he chose to keep going and bring his leadership to the virtual front for the rest of the globe and show them what leadership in the San Francisco arena looks like!” -Nominator
Adam Swig is the founder and executive director of Value Culture, a California nonprofit focused on engaging the next generation in culture and philanthropy through events and culture programming. Since 2012, Adam worked with over 60 nonprofit organizations raising over $1 million dollars for philanthropic causes. His constantly sold-out events have raised awareness for many causes including the environment, children in need, Shabbat and Jewish life, homelessness, public institutions, inclusivity, the arts, up and coming musical artists of all genres, disaster relief, cancer, women’s issues, goats, strengthening Bay Area culture, and encouraging philanthropy. Adam currently serves on the board of trustees at the University of San Francisco, The Bammies Music Foundation Advisory Board, the board of the Bay Area Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Northern California, a member of the Doolan Larson Residence and Storefront Task Force, & the Contemporary Jewish Museum Contemporaries. Highlights of 2021 pandemic programming included producing a 60,000-person international virtual Passover seder featuring stars like Tiffany Haddish, creating the first Afikomen NFT featured in The NY Times, and hosting virtual talks with Holocaust survivors reaching hundreds of thousands of new listeners to the topic.
With nominators and supporters from across the country, Adam Swig has fostered deep and meaningful relationships in the Bay Area and national Jewish communities. Adam has his finger on the “pulse of our city and various communities within it” while extending himself with generosity and kindness. He is a mensch, does his work with heart, and is proudly Jewish. Adam’s leadership is creative, and he builds bridges across communities with high impact and innovative events and relationships that are open to everyone, and at little or no cost.
What started out through his own sense of giving back to his primarily Jewish community has developed into a national schedule of events that bring together his colleagues, his peers, and his fellow Jews. He creates programs and opportunities that “represent the moment and the passions and values that many of us share at this particular junction in history.” He’s creating spaces to confront topics and ideas that many didn’t even know we would want or need in Jewish community.
https://jewishfed.org/news/blog/meet-our-2021-leadership-awardees. - Dona Standel
Value Culture’s project with Jimmie Fails featured by Bay Area Focus TV Show
‘Seven by 7’ also featured in the Nob Hill Gazette
Our Jewish Culture Festival Pop Up in the J!
The annual Jewish Culture Festival held in Krakow, Poland, is the world’s largest presentation of contemporary culture created by Jews from around the globe. On May 7, the Bay Area can get a taste of that popular gathering at a free, all-ages mini version in Golden Gate Park.
Ethiopian Israeli musician Gili Yalo will headline Krakow’s Jewish Culture Festival Pop-Up, with a lineup that also includes blues guitarist and cantorial scion Jeremiah Lockwood and singer-songwriter Happie Hoffman, who hails from Tulsa, Oklahoma. David Katznelson of Jewish nonprofit Reboot will perform a DJ set titled ”Black Sabbath: The Secret Musical History of Black Jewish Relations.” The set features recordings of famous non-Jewish Black musicians performing Jewish or Jewish-influenced music.
Rapper Kosha Dillz, who earlier this month led short Passover seders outside the Coachella music festival, will serve as MC.
The festival is presented by Bay Area nonprofit Value Culture and co-sponsored by Taube Philanthropies and other local Jewish organizations. J. is the official media sponsor.
RELATED: Jewish Culture Festival showcases revival in Krakow
“We need an event like this for all ages to come together, celebrate, re-identify and reignite the Jewish community, which the pandemic has interrupted,” said Adam Swig, executive director of Value Culture. “It will give people a taste of what they would experience at the Krakow Jewish Culture festival this summer in Poland.”
Yalo, who immigrated from Ethiopia to Israel with his family in 1984 during Operation Moses, has stopped in the Bay Area before on tour. But this will be his first time performing with a full band. His latest single, “Einsof” (“infinity”), is in Hebrew and Amharic.
Lockwood appeared at the Krakow Jewish Culture Festival in 2009 and 2011 with his band The Sway Machinery, as well as in 2014 with klezmer trumpeter Frank London. (The festival is in its 34th year.) He told J. he has not yet solidified his set for the pop-up event, but it will be “a mix of fingerpicking guitar, Yiddish songs, old blues and khazones,” or Jewish sacred music.
Krakow’s Jewish Culture Festival Pop-Up
2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 7 at Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse Bandshell, between the Japanese Tea Garden and California Academy of Sciences. Free, registration required.
Value Culture announced in the San Francisco Chronicle
Photo: Jho Vilar
In any event: Event entrepreneur Adam Swig, also a dedicated Giants fan who, just in case, maintains his long, curly “rally” locks, has yet to reach the $4 million fundraising mark. But this 33-year-old — a fourth-gen, EssEff native — is a passionate promoter of cause-based co-mingles, many of which benefit nonprofits like those hillside-chomping goats of City Grazing.
Swig’s first big fete was in 2014 when he launched a new holiday tradition: Hanukkah in Paris at the Clift Hotel, where pretty young things brought gift-wrapped presents for Toys for Tots. Hundreds of ticket buyers show up at Swig’s events — from a Solstice Day launch party with taco trucks for the artist @fnnch to Swig’s signature SanFranFuego theme fetes with other friends, including Giants World Series champ Andres Torres.
Or it might just be a cool Millennial confab at hipster hot spots like Harlot, where Swig organized a Drake-theme DJ dance party, partial proceeds of which benefited the International Rescue Committee. In fact, all comers are welcome at Swig’s events: Singles, tech bros, Jews, art lovers, Giants fans and even middle-aged society columnists who wonder if they can stay awake until 9:30 p.m. for one of Swig’s downtown shindigs.
“Connecting a younger generation to culture and philanthropy is really important to me,” says Swig, who credits his grandmother, civic leader Cissie Swig, as his greatest mentor.
He was also recently inspired by Paul Simon when the iconic Grammy-winning musician headlined in August at Outside Lands — and donated his performance fee to San Francisco Recreation and Park along with Friends of the Urban Forest.
So Swig dreamed up Later Lands — a post-party at Neck of the Woods on Clement Street also benefiting Rec and Park. He figured that location was ideal for music lovers exiting Golden Gate Park who wished to keep the party going.
“When a musical artist like Paul Simon gives away his fee to a local entity, I was totally inspired. Our parks provide amazing, free programming, and they need a lot of love, too!” he enthused. “The donation wasn’t huge. But 350 people rocked out, appreciating new and emerging bands, like Amo Amo, which played Outside Lands the next day.”
Swig has just established an event nonprofit called Value Culture. And his faith will continue to inspire his party support of organizations like the Jewish Community Federation and Jewish Contemporary Museum.
“I’ll always do my Jewish events,” he says, with a laugh. “I think someone out there is looking out for me.”
Catherine Bigelow is The San Francisco Chronicle’s society correspondent. Email: missbigelow@sfgate.com Instagram: @missbigelow
https://www.sfchronicle.com/style/article/Buster-and-Kristen-Posey-s-BP28-Gala-rallies-14413048.php
Value Culture featured in TIME Magazine!
BY RAISA BRUNER
MAY 6, 2021 12:28 PM EDT
Like many Jews on Christmas Eve, Jordan Frazes was bored. She didn’t have the option to meet up with friends or hit up a Chinese restaurant; the pandemic kept her sequestered at home in Chicago with her parents. So when she got a notification about a “Matzo Ball” room on the audio app Clubhouse, she tapped in to join. “It became this hysterical thing where you’re talking to strangers, but it feels really comfortable,” she says; she stuck around for six or seven hours. Since then, Frazes and a growing cohort of Jews—from around the world and from all denominations—have built an unusually focused and education-oriented community on the app, where thousands of listeners and speakers tune in regularly for events like weekly Shabbat, hours-long talks from Holocaust survivors and even a celebrity-studded Passover Seder with guests like Jeff Garlin and Ari Melber.
Frazes considers herself culturally Jewish but not particularly observant. Still, she is aware of the crisis of anti-Semitism spiking around the world: anti-Semitic attacks reached a near all-time high in 2020 according to the Anti-Defamation League, which tracked over 2,000 incidents of anti-Semitism in the U.S. alone. Experts link the rise to a lack of education about Judaism and Jewish history. A 2020 survey showed a troubling decline in Gen Z and Millennial knowledge about the facts of the Holocaust; as many as 63% of U.S. respondents did not know that six million Jews were killed, and 11% believed Jews caused the Holocaust.
Lack of regulation on social media fuels such misinformation, and Clubhouse has been no exception. The tech industry’s latest buzzy social media platform, which launched last fall, now claims over 10 million users on its iOS-only app, and has been valued at $4 billion as of mid-April. The app was an early hit for tech, business and music celebrities, with appearances from Elon Musk, Paris Hilton and will.i.am. It has also been the focus of concerns about anti-Semitic, misogynistic or other problematic speech, which has festered in some corners of the app. Despite this, a fervent Jewish community has grown on the platform, with a mission to spread cultural knowledge.
Since that fated Christmas Eve experience, Frazes, who runs a consulting and PR agency called Frazes Creative, has become something of a super-user, even organizing a weekly post-Shabbat event called Havdalah. “We wonder how long this community will stay together, and we ask the question sometimes to the room,” Frazes says. “The response is: please, please continue this, we love this. And my response is that if we’re making that difference in ten people’s lives, or 30 people’s lives, or 50, it makes a difference to me.”
The experience of using Clubhouse is akin to walking into a giant, maze-like university building: there are cavernous lecture halls filled with thousands of people in attendance and just a couple of speakers at the stage, and there are small round-table discussion sections that feel like cozy hangouts among friends. You don’t really know what you’ll find until you open the door and peer in. Sometimes you’ll get a chance to speak; sometimes you won’t. As its initial surge of new user acquisition slows—in March, new user growth dropped 72% from its February high—some prognosticators are already bearish on its future. Competition is everywhere: Twitter recently launched Twitter Spaces; Reddit is preparing to kick off Reddit Talk; Facebook has plans to roll out live social audio rooms.
But not all have already constructed a vibrant Jewish world of their own. Adam Swig, the executive director of non-profit organization Value Culture, has been one of the most prominent organizers moderating inclusive Jewish-oriented spaces on Clubhouse; he and his Value Culture “room” were behind that first Matzo Ball experience. Prior to the pandemic, Swig organized events in his native San Francisco like Shabbat at the Symphony and “Goat My Valentine,” a Valentine’s Day party featuring—you guessed it—goats. He learned quickly over the past year how to attract audiences to digital events; his Zoom Shabbats, like one focused on Black and Jewish solidarity, and one partnered with a special needs non-profit, counted thousands of attendees. But Clubhouse has proved more fruitful. “I was reaching thousands of people globally instead of hundreds of people locally,” he says. Swig started spending as many as 40 hours a week on the app.
Much of that time has been devoted to special events featuring Holocaust survivors. That younger generations are under-informed about a critically important historical event is a global concern; even German politicians are wary of this trend, especially as the far right gains ground in legislatures around Europe. Swig, alongside rapper Kosha Dillz, brought 81-year-old Holocaust survivor and speaker Sami Steigmann to the app to share his experiences in late January for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It ended up being a 16-hour marathon of a room—continuous conversation across time zones, with over a thousand audience members of all nationalities, ages and backgrounds tuning in to ask questions. Swig and Value Culture have since hosted more salons with survivors. “Never before [have we had] the access to this global audience, together, on these topics,” Swig says. For listeners, hearing from survivors firsthand can be eye-opening.
Kianta Key, a social media strategist from Georgia, stumbled upon the Holocaust talk almost by accident on a slow afternoon. “I couldn’t believe there was an octogenarian on Clubhouse or that this person, who had lived through the horror of the Holocaust, was sharing his journey with a bunch of strangers,” Key says. “I‘ve likened the experience to the late 1930s effort to collect narratives from people who had been enslaved.” The audio aspect of Clubhouse, Key says, deepens the human connection, stripping away some of the artificiality of social media, and breeding empathy.
Steigmann’s perspective on surviving trauma especially hit home with Key. “He didn’t condemn or offer anything that was on the spectrum of hateful for those who carried out these orders or for anyone else who denies his experience,” she says. “It’s inspiring especially given the state violence on Black and Brown people and the increased anti-Asian violence over the last year. How can I get the peace and grace of Mr. Steigmann?”
For Bidisa Mukherjee, a San Francisco Bay-area sales operations analyst, the Holocaust survivor talks have been a welcome history refresher. “I only remember learning about the Holocaust one year out of my four years of high school,” she says. “I think hearing from the mouth of someone who has lived through it really puts a lot of things into perspective. It doesn’t feel so far away.”
Much of the Jewish education on Clubhouse is more lighthearted than the Holocaust storytelling. Often, it’s just a chance to hang out, like at the Havdalah Room. Usually, Havdalah—the ceremony that marks the formal end of Shabbat and the start of a new week—is an experience saved for Jews who are actively observant. But on Clubhouse, all are welcome to join the chat and set some intentions.
Jonathan Emile, a Jamaican-Canadian musician living in Montreal, has become a Havdalah regular. “My wife Ruth was exploring when she stumbled across a room called ‘Shabbat Stallone or Sylvester Shalom.’ She was simply intrigued, so she joined the room where a small group of people were just having a blast cracking jokes,” he says. (It was a Shabbat after-party room, hosted by Swig’s Value Culture.) That led them to join other Havdalah rooms and attend Holocaust remembrance events. Neither Emile nor his wife are Jewish, but they have found connection in the Jewish community on Clubhouse. “It’s great to talk about allyship, but by actually listening and participating in a Havdalah or a virtual Shabbat, one can really learn,” he says. Plus, he has found meaningful parallels between his own lived experiences and those of the Jews he is getting to know online, particularly when it comes to the historical oppression of both groups. “[I’ve learned about] the constant uphill battle against racism, the longing for self-determination, being painted in caricature, and the disunity that tradition, trauma and disparate ethnicity often bring,” he says. “Often we get painted in stereotypes with prejudice strokes. Seeing the diversity of Judaism in ethnicity, race and tradition on full display through testimony, music and conversation is really—truly—powerful.” Emile wrote a song called “Moses,” and he performs it often in the Havdalah Clubhouse room, at listeners’ requests.
For Frazes, the diversity of the chats has helped her connect with Jewish traditions even more. Swig is focused on broadening the community’s appeal. “A Night of 1,000 Jewish Stars,” a four-hour Passover Seder Swig and Frazes helped organize featuring celebrities like Tiffany Haddish and Tori Spelling brought in 43,000 attendees. (They also welcomed techies with the sale of a matzo NFT.) Swig is proud of his efforts, and sees real progress educating young people on the app about Jewish culture. “We did it on Clubhouse, we came together during the pandemic,” he says, “and we created a future.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/COix7ZYh2K9/
Read the full article by Tony Bravo here:
https://brokeassstuart.com/2021/11/12/value-culture-is-throwing-a-party-for-your-pup-humans-are-invited-too/
VALUE CULTURE IS THROWING A PARTY FOR YOUR PUP (HUMANS ARE INVITED, TOO!)
12NOV2021LIZZIE LOCKER - EVENTS EDITOR
If there’s anywhere in the world that loves dogs, it’s definitely San Francisco. Ranked as the #1 most Dog-Friendly city in America (in 2016, at least), SF loves its furry friends like family – better than family, sometimes. We love our puppers like our kids – so why shouldn’t we share with them all the same rites and rituals we’d share with our children?
This afternoon, local nonprofit venture Value Culture is partnering with Muttville Senior Dog Rescue to host a one-of-a-kind event especially for our dog-loving city: The Bark Mitzvah! This interactive, immersive arts and entertainment event gives your canine pal the chance to “come of age” with all the pomp and circumstance they deserve (and we’ve got a super sweet discount code for our readers at the end of this article, too!)
The brainchild of Value Culture organizer Adam Swig, The Bark Mitzvah is an event designed to spread positivity and happiness, as well as to share a cultural experience. According to Swig, “Most people probably haven’t had the chance to experience the Jewish cultural experience of a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, the coming of age ceremony and celebration for 13 year olds. Oftentimes Jewish culture is also misunderstood and not accessible to learn about. There’s also always been a fun joke amongst my Jewish friends that when your dog turns 13 they should get a ‘Bark Mitzvah’. So I took this idea to another level.”
But what is the Bark Mitzvah, exactly? “The Bark Mitzvah is an interactive art experience,” says Swig “You and your dog become art. We don’t want to give away too much of the scene we are setting, but it’s an example of a traditional celebration that would take place at a bar mitzvah party.” Participants become part of the scene designed by NYC artist Danielle in Doodles, and photo-booth company SnapFiesta will capture the magic. And don’t forget to get your certificate of Bark Mitzvah before you leave, so you can remember your dog’s special day forever. Swig is hoping that the event is popular enough to take on tour soon, so be on the lookout for Bark Mitzvah’s in Beverly Hills and NYC too!
And for those of you without dogs, don’t worry – they have a “pet simulator” on hand so you can share in the special day, too!
The event is free (RSVP here!) and will be going on until 5:00 pm today at 1506 Haight street; but if you want to skip the line, VIP passes are available for purchase right here – and our readers can get an exclusive $5 off their VIP passes when they use the code BROKEASS at checkout!
So what are you waiting for? Head on down to the Haight for a super-special, super-San Franciscan experience. Mazel tov!!!
Our ‘Welcome to Afghanistan’ in Golden Gate Park featured on NBC News
Local Jews flock to Clubhouse, the invite-only, audio-only social network
This year for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Adam Swig wanted to do something different.
The S.F.-based philanthropist, known in large part for organizing giant Jewish-themed parties and fundraisers, had recently joined Clubhouse, a new invitation-only app that allows users to talk (or just listen) in group conversations.
Topics range from entrepreneurship to electronic music to coping with ADHD, and in December, Swig had a positive experience with the app, organizing an event called “Matzo Ball” in which attendees were asked which type of matzah ball they prefer: sinkers or floaters.
Adam Swig
So when the Holocaust commemoration day came around on Jan. 27, Swig decided to use Clubhouse to highlight the voice of Sami Steigmann, a survivor who lives in New York City. Jewish rapper Kosha Dillz was included in the program, and Swig advertised it as “The First Holocaust Survivor on Clubhouse.”
The conversation turned out to be a major hit, as roughly 15,000 people joined the room over the course of more than a dozen hours, Swig said.
Steigmann shared his story and took questions for five hours, and after he left, the conversation about the Holocaust and Jewish history lasted another 11 hours (note: some Clubhouse sessions do go on and on, with one lasting seven days). Eric Weinstein, a famous financial manager and commentator who coined the term Intellectual Dark Web, joined in, and even Clubhouse founder Paul Davison stopped by.
An editor for the New York Times tweeted, “I’m in a Clubhouse room … where a young Jewish woman and her grandma, the survivor, are sharing stories and talking about Jewish history, and now I understand the app’s appeal … I’m literally crying in the club.”
“That night was wild,” Swig said. “That was a really big day for Jews on Clubhouse.”
Launched in April 2020, the S.F.-based app has seen a meteoric rise during the pandemic. Nine months ago after having a couple thousand users, according to the New York Times, the app today has some 6 million users by one estimate and is valued at $1 billion.
Jews have carved out their own niche spaces on the app. One night, for example, there were three Jewish Clubhouse rooms in action: one for finding a Passover date, one a discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and one titled “Being a badass Jew” (though its objective wasn’t exactly clear).
To join, a person needs to receive an invite from a friend who already is on the app. After creating a profile with likes and interests, the new member can join audio-only conversation rooms based on those interests. People who want to speak first need to “raise their hand” to get approval from a moderator.
“There’s something about the broadcast nature of it,” said Rabbi Zac Kamenetz, formerly of the JCC of San Francisco who recently started hosting Clubhouse rooms to discuss the texts of Hasidic master Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. “People miss being in an audience. You can enjoy yourself. You’re there for the show. You’re there for the spectacle.”
Rabbi Zac Kamenetz
In Kamenetz’s first room in early February, he led roughly 100 people for a two-hour discussion on one of his pet topics, the intersection of Judaism and psychedelics. The weekly Rebbe Nachman room drew about a dozen people at its most recent gathering, and Kamenetz also is planning a discussion with Rabbi Shai Held, a theologian who has been on Newsweek’s list of the 50 most influential rabbis in America.
Part of Clubhouse’s popularity has been attributed to timing, with the pandemic forcing many people online. But while platforms such as Zoom have flourished, users of Clubhouse say they like the fluidity of the audio-only platform. Being able to enter and exit rooms at will allows for better accessibility than something like Zoom, which requires getting a link from a host, showing one’s face in the room and other procedures.
“When it comes to showing your face all the time in videos, it’s not always the most comfortable,” said Shirah Ponce, who works at Chabad of Palo Alto and is using Clubhouse for a variety of Jewish needs, such as reviews of the weekly Torah portion and other lessons on the Torah. “That barrier of discomfort isn’t there” with Clubhouse.
One of the first rooms Ponce entered was one for Jewish photographers. Topics included best practices when taking photos at Jewish weddings and how much to charge. Some of the attendees in the room, Ponce said, were well-known Jewish photographers she had been following on Instagram and Facebook. But there they were, Ponce said, in a room where she was able to talk directly with them.
“I was absolutely fangirling the whole time,” Ponce said. “It’s like face to face, or voice to voice, with people who seem far away but are close.”
The platform also allows organizers to reach audiences they would have otherwise not encountered.
Screenshot of one of Adam Swig’s Clubhouse events featuring Holocaust survivor Sami Steigman.
For instance, Swig was used to reaching mainly Bay Area Jews, to be expected since he was hosting in-person events mostly in the Bay Area. But now he’s co-hosting a weekly Havdalah room on Clubhouse (with his friends Mikey Pauker and Jordan Frazes) that is drawing about 500 people.
“There were rabbis showing up from all around the world,” Swig said of the first one, which has been followed by six more. “Reformed Jews, Black Jews, Latin Jews, every kind of Jew. And we’re all doing Havdalah together.” He also marveled at seeing something in the Havdalah room he’d never seen before: an Orthodox man on the same “stage” speaking alongside a woman.
Clubhouse’s reach is illustrated by the number of followers Swig has garnered. On his Facebook and Instagram pages, which he’s had for years, he has slightly more than 3,200 likes/followers. And on his Clubhouse account? He’s reached nearly 4,000 followers in just over two months.
“I think people are lonely,” Swig said. “Just to have conversations about learning, stuff you don’t know about, it’s just a wormhole. You can just listen. It’s real social media.”
That being said, the platform has had some issues with antisemitism.
In September, Tablet reported that one conversation “quickly devolved into a stream of common antisemitic tropes about Jewish money, economic and political domination, and the Holocaust.” And in a Jewish singles room on Feb. 17, a user got “on stage” and started rattling off conspiracies about Jewish billionaire investor George Soros. The hosts of the room quickly booted the troll out.
“The bigger [Clubhouse] gets, the scarier it gets,” said Swig, who worries that more antisemitism will creep onto the platform.
Swig said he doesn’t know what will happen to the Jewish spaces on Clubhouse after the pandemic. Will people go back to auditoriums and bars to listen to speakers and meet others? Or is it here to stay?
“The popularity came because of the pandemic,” Swig said. “I think it’ll still be a happening thing.”
What keeps him coming back to Clubhouse?
“You can just listen,” he said. “That’s the key.”
VALUE CULTURE Featured on the cover of the J !
Partying and giving back — it’s the Adam Swig way
When Adam Swig throws a party, people come — a lot of people. Where else can you hear the Shabbat blessing and then some underground rap, or take a Valentine’s Day selfie with a goat, or dance to Latin music with former Giants baseball player Andrés Torres?
Swig says the secret is simple. “Making it fun, filling it with joy,” he said.
Swig is a one-man show, a powerhouse promoter with a talent for creating fun, high-energy events that Jewish young adults flock to by the hundreds. His parties have clever names — “Back to Shul,” “Spring Drake,” “Cocktails Fiddler on the Roof” — and draw crowds who might not show up to a lecture or a Shabbat service, but will happily turn out for a late-night party or a bar that’s playing great dance music.
Now Swig, 34, a San Francisco native and part of the philanthropic Swig family, is looking to scale up what he does so well through Value Culture, the new nonprofit he’s created.
To him, the name says it all. “I think you get it right away,” he said. “Do you value culture?”
Each of the past seven years, Swig has put on an average of a dozen events — Jewish and otherwise — that are not only fun but also encourage people to give. “Hanukkah in Paris” is a bash that draws around 500 partiers each year and benefits Toys for Tots (hence the Marines who show up in uniform).
“Tikkun olam is a big part of everything I do,” he said.
And he does it all himself. “I’m a staff of one. That’s a lot of work.”
Swig is inspired by an older generation of philanthropists who cared about the city and its Jewish life. His great-grandfather was Benjamin Swig, a businessman who owned the Fairmont and St. Francis hotels. He’s particularly close to his grandmother Roselyne “Cissie” Swig, a donor to major institutions, including the Contemporary Jewish Museum and SFMOMA, and who sits on the boards of the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation, Jewish Community Relations Council, American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Shalom Hartman Institute. He’s learned a lot from her.
“My grandma always makes it fun,” he said. “That’s my model.”
Swig, a graduate of Drew School, had his bar mitzvah at Congregation Emanu-El and went on to get his first job there, as a teacher’s assistant. (He left to work for the S.F. Giants, starting as a bat boy.) After graduating from Santa Clara University and some entertainment consultancy work, he came back around to S.F. Jewish life in 2013 with his Israel in the Gardens “Innovation Alley,” which showcased high-tech and nonprofit startups.
Today Swig hosts a party or two a month; he also is a consultant for organizations planning their own events.
You really feel like you’re getting invited by your best friend.
“He has a knack for picking interesting venues and relatable causes,” said S.F. native Jennifer Rosenthal, who has been going to Swig events since the beginning. They always have two important things that make for a great party, she said: tasty food and amazing DJs.
“There’s definitely a lot more dancing than you would expect,” she added.
Some of the success stems from the atmosphere that Swig creates around himself.
“You really feel like you’re getting invited by your best friend, and that makes you 10 times more likely to come,” Rosenthal said.
(This reporter got a taste of Swig’s generous nature during our interview when he showed up with an extra cookie. If he buys a cookie for himself, it’s second nature to buy two.)
Named one of “2019’s most eligible singles” by the Nob Hill Gazette, Swig is known all around as a mensch.
“He’s a promoter with heart,” said PJ Cherrin, regional director of Birthright Israel Foundation who has worked with Swig several times. “He’s more than a programming person. He’s trying to build a community.”
Swig chaired a young adult gala benefit for Birthright featuring Randi Zuckerberg in 2014, and he and his grandmother co-chaired a fundraiser for the organization in 2016. He’s also helped raise funds for numerous Bay Area causes, from fire relief to homelessness to coastline protection to the S.F. Jewish Film Festival and Reboot.
“Adam’s a proud San Franciscan and a proud Jewish community member,” Cherrin said.
Swig’s events, some more overtly Jewish-themed than others, welcome all ages, ethnicities and religions — including the after-parties he throws for attendees of Congregation Emanu-El’s Late Shabbat services.
“Other people need that healing on Friday nights,” he said. “They need that light in their lives.”
Rochelle Proctor, who has been to a few of Swig’s events, agreed. “He’s so proud of Shabbat: the religion, the candles, the wine, the bread,” she said. “And the people who aren’t Jewish take to it. They love it!”
Proctor also confirms that the events are open to all ages. “I’m 82 and my boyfriend is 91,” she said.
Swig’s main audience, though, is the community of young people moving to San Francisco every year. He wants them to get to know and love his city, too, and he pushes back against anyone who merely laments the ways the city has changed.
“You can’t be afraid of change,” he said. “It happens. Look at San Francisco! It’s happened.”
His parties reflect those cultural changes in a positive way. So while he might feature underground rappers and drag performers, he also strives to introduce newcomers to institutions such as the San Francisco Symphony, with his “Shabbat at the Symphony.”
It’s that mix of high and low, rich and not, old and young, newcomer and native, Jew and non-Jew, all bound together, that generates the atmosphere that is Swig’s brand. And Value Culture is his way of keeping that special sauce that makes his events so successful and scaling it up, working with a team to create even more.
Until now, Swig has essentially done everything himself through his network of contacts, using his own money and some informal contributions.
“I’m happy to do the work,” he said. “But I need support.”
That’s something he believes Value Culture will offer, allowing him to hire staff and build the kind of structured operation that makes organizations more confident about working with him — especially those that might hesitate to rely on one person, no matter how well-connected or experienced, to throw an important event.
“I was tired of that getting in my way,” he admitted.
The venture requires him to seek investors. Despite his experience with fundraising, this is the first time he is putting out the hat for his own organization.
“Asking people for money is not the most comfortable thing to do,” he said.
Will Value Culture eventually become a bigger brand than “Adam Swig Presents”? Swig doesn’t know, but he is looking forward to the changes and thinks his new idea has legs.
“It’s not about me,” he said. “It’s the mission. I don’t want it to be about me as a person.”
they saw more violence facing the Black community. Swig told the Journal the images made them want to say, “Oy vey.” Swig told Dillz he wanted to do an event that captured their exasperation and call it “Soul Vey.” Dillz responded, “I want to do something Black and Jewish.”“Me, too,” Swig replied.And so, Soul Vey — a virtual Kabbalat Shabbat dinner of music, comedy and civil rights, organized for the Jewish and Black communities — was born.
The inaugural event was held July 3 via Zoom, hosted by Dillz (whose real name is Rami Matan Even-Esh) and Swig, founder and executive director of the San Francisco-based nonprofit Value Culture.The approximately 200 people who participated in the free event were encouraged to order a box of Shabbat supplies containing challah, candles and more through OneTable, one of the program’s myriad supporters. The event also was supported by the ROI Community at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.
“THIS HAS FIRED US UP. WE ARE ALWAYS MOTIVATED TO CREATE UNIQUE CONTENT FOR THE JEWISH COMMUNITY AND OUR ALLIES.” — ADAM SWIG
The three-hour gathering featured Black, gay Rabbi Sandra Lawson; Pico Shul Rabbi Yonah Bookstein; Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann; Ethiopian refugee Nafatali Aklum, who lives in Israel; rapper Akil (whose real name is Dante Givens) from the alternative hip-hop group Jurassic 5; comedian Sarah Afkami; and musician Mikey Pauker. All expressed solidarity and coming together around Jewish and Black ally-ship to fight racism and anti-Semitism.
Shortly after Dillz delivered impromptu verses at the start of the program, musician and vocalist Happie Hoffman led Shabbat candle lighting and the recitation of the Shema. She also performed a rendition of Mi Chamocha on acoustic guitar that segued into “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley. Rabbi Lawson, who is based in a small town in North Carolina, also brought her guitar and performed. Such was the creative spirit of the evening, which blended liturgy with discussion and spirituality. “We need more civil, community spaces,” Swig told the Journal.
Since the program’s live broadcast, produced by Rachel Horning and Zach Sekar, the recording has racked up more than 1,700 views at ShabbatStream.com.On the heels of the event’s success, Swig said he and Dillz hope to host a follow-up program focusing on Jews from Africa, and another event later this year introducing the Black community to the rituals of Rosh Hashanah.“This has fired us up,” Swig said. “We are always motivated to create unique content for the Jewish community and our allies.”
-Ryan Torok July 7, 2020
https://jewishjournal.com/culture/318514/soul-vey-shabbat-focuses-black-community-and-jews/
Adam Swig wrote about Soul Vey for the Jewish News of Northern California!
Click here or the image below to read the article.
Adam Swig’s Value Culture Wants to Engage the Next Generation of San Franciscans
![Adam Swig on his up-and-coming nonprofit, Value Culture: “I wanted to make the message about [giving back],” he says, “not about me.”](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d5d9c10b08398000159ae75/1586575877354-5F8J29Z1NUV530Y7TXHA/download.jpg)
Adam Swig on his up-and-coming nonprofit, Value Culture: “I wanted to make the message about [giving back],” he says, “not about me.”
When the Gazette spoke with Adam Swig, he was spending the holidays in Hawaii, letting his long curls loose before returning to San Francisco for what would be a “wild” start of the year for his new nonprofit, Value Culture. The organization, which aims to engage the next generation of San Franciscans with the things that shaped Swig (the arts, community involvement) is both a tribute to his famously philanthropic family and an attempt to create something that’s not about his last name at all. “I wanted to make the message about [giving back],” he says, “not about me.”
The cause. Formed in November 2019, Value Culture is an extension of the event work that Swig’s been doing for years— from inclusive late-Shabbat after-parties to “Hanukkah in Paris”-themed toy drives. But he wanted to create a larger impact, and as an individual “it’s kind of hard to do that,” he says. The organization will continue Swig’s tradition of throwing benevolent ragers, in addition to offering something called “COR” (an acronym for cultural opportunity review), which helps foundations and organizations pinpoint their issues, find ways to address them and (in an on-brand move) kick-start the process with an event. Value Culture also has plans to offer internships and volunteer opportunities to young people, as well as opportunities for artists.
Inspiration. After serving as the token millennial on the committees of institutions trying to hook the next gen, Swig realized there was a hole in the system that needed to be filled — it’s part of what pushed him to start the nonprofit. He also cites his powerhouse grandmother, Cissie Swig, as a huge influence. “Growing up watching her, learning from her, was a blessing,” Swig says. The family matriarch, who sits on Value Culture’s advisory council, reminds him of what’s important, like writing thank-you notes, among other “grandma stuff.”
Impact. It may be too soon for numbers, but Swig is clear on what he wants his nonprofit to achieve: Preserve the culture and spirit of “old San Francisco” for a modern age. He jokes that Value Culture “is the only VC in San Francisco that’s really going to matter.”
Supporters. Swig’s mom, Sari Swig, has been a huge pillar in his philanthropic journey. Other advisers include Emma Mayerson, Zachary Casler, and Value Culture’s board of directors; Nat Hays, Deva Santiago, Dylan Macniven and J.P. Harbour.
Budget. So far, there’s no budget besides the few thousand that he’s self-funded, Swig says.
Getting involved. “I look at this as my baby,” he explains. “And what do your friends do when you have a baby? They give it gifts.” In other words, donate! Or attend one of its events. On February 2, Value Culture participated in Night of Ideas, a heady event from the French Consulate in San Francisco, SFMOMA, KQED and the San Francisco Public Library.
By Julissa James, March 14, 2020
Value Culture’s Seder Stream featured in Billboard Magazine
This year, the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing quarantine will make the typical Passover Seder different for the majority of the world. Like live stream festivals replacing physical ones, many will unite virtually to perform the ritual Passover Seder, signifying freedom from slavery thousands of years ago.
To that end, Kosha Dillz has created Seder Stream with Value Culture, a Bay Area-based nonprofit specializing in philanthropic events from Sundance to SXSW and beyond. Seder Stream will be the new online home for holiday-themed streaming Seders for the week, including a diverse online April 14 festival featuring Grammy-nominated Memphis stars Southern Avenue, Howi Spangler of Ballyhoo!, L.A. pop starlet Flavia, L.A.-based hip-hop artists Verbs and Devmo, San Francisco-based lounge crooner Bud. E. Luv, Ray Goren (NBC's Songland), Uruguayan DJ Vala Nirenberg, "the world's first indie rock tribute band" Black Crystal Wolf Kids, Dillz himself and more. Each act will raise awareness and funds for a charitable cause of their own choosing.
To ease your week of Passover with sounds inspired from his home-baked matzah, Kosha Dillz has curated a Seder Stream Spotify playlist with a wide array of holiday favorites from Haim, Drake, Nissim Black and Jasmin Moallem to his newly released songs with Kaskade and Jewish reggae legend Matisyahu. The playlist also features all the acts from the April 14 Seder Stream Festival.
Listen to the Seder Stream Playlist here.
https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9353966/kosha-dillz-passover-playlist
Seder Stream featured on ABC 7 News Bay Area!
Seder Stream a featured cover story in the Jewish Journal
Jewish rapper Kosha Dillz (Rami Matan Even-Esh) was supposed to attend Coachella this past weekend to celebrate with fans and reprise his famous seder event “Matzahchella.” But then the biggest music festival in the country was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.But that didn’t stop Kosha Dillz and Bay-area nonprofit Value Culture —a group that specializes in curated Jewish events at giant public gatherings including the Sundance Film Festival and SXSW. In less than a week they created Seder Stream, a one-stop streaming Facebook page where Jews of all observances can find meaningful virtual seders including a Passover-themed music festival.
Seder Stream Music Festival will feature a handful of artists Jewish as well as non-Jewish artists, including Grammy-nominated Southern Avenue, Howi Spangler of Ballyhoo!, L.A. pop star Flavia, L.A.-based hip-hop artists Verbs and Devmo, Mikey Pauker, Hip Hop Haggadah Seder, San Francisco-based singer Bud. E. Luv, Ray Goren, Uruguayan DJ Vala Nirenberg, Black Crystal Wolf Kids and of course Kosha Dillz himself.
Kosha Dillz also created a Spotify playlist for fans ahead of the festival. Tracks include his latest collaborations with Matisyahu and Grammy-nominated electronic producer Kaskade.
Kosha Dillz isn’t just invested in enriching Jewish life through music. He also wants to support artists whose tours and festival gigs were canceled. Each act will raise money for a specific cause of their choice in addition to taking donations from fans.
“Everyone is suffering during these times,” Kosha Dillz said. “Artists can’t perform, now there is zero live music. Now is the time to give to a musician, an artist. I’m trying to make the best of it. I want to be remembered during this time as someone that was doing creative stuff and helping other people and not just checking out completely.”
By Erin Ben-Moche April 13, 2020 https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/music/314094/kosha-dillz-virtual-music-festival-for-passover/
Seder Stream featured Live Stream by Open Source Music
Don’t “Passover” this day long Virtual Music Festival on Tuesday April 14th starting at 12pm pacific time. The festival celebrates the Jewish freedom Holiday of Passover in an unorthodox fashion. Curated and created by Bay Area based non profit Value Culture and freestyle jewish rapper Kosha Dillz, this diverse online concert features Grammy nominated artists Southern Avenue, Howi Spangler from BallyHoo! Songland star Ray Gorem, Lounge Singer Bud E. Luv, Female vocalists Devmo, Flavia, and OFLO, Kosha Dillz himself and more acts streaming from around the world in Germany, Uruguay, Israel, and across the USA.
Donations welcome going to charities of the artists choice through Value Culture www.valueculture.com/donate
by Matthew King Kaufman | Apr 12, 2020
Seder Stream Featured in the J
The Jewish News of northern california
Kosha Dillz is supposed to be on a multicity U.S. tour right now. Instead, the 38-year-old rapper is stuck in Los Angeles, where he is trying to find creative ways to celebrate Passover online — as well as generate some income for himself and other artists who have lost gigs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
To that end, Kosha Dillz is headlining his own Passover-themed virtual music festival on Facebook — right now! The more than 13-hour Seder Stream Festival is taking place today, April 14, and the last act is scheduled to go on at 9 p.m. Check it out here.
The lineup includes both Jewish and non-Jewish acts, including the Grammy-nominated blues band Southern Avenue, Howi Spangler of the rock band Ballyhoo, and other musicians, DJs and even burlesque dancers. The performers will be accepting donations as well as raising money for charities of their choice, including Value Culture, a S.F.-based arts nonprofit.
“I had 22 shows cancelled,” explained Kosha Dillz, who was born Rami Even-Esh in New Jersey to Israeli immigrant parents and who raps in English, Hebrew, Yiddish and Spanish. “That’s a significant amount of income. I usually do an event at South by Southwest, which was cancelled [in March], so I took some acts from that project and merged them with other acts for the festival.”
Kosha Dillz organized the festival with his friend, Adam Swig, the S.F.-based founder and CEO of Value Culture.
The festival marks the first livestream show for Robert Vickers, who has been performing around the Bay Area for years as Bud E. Luv, a parody of a Las Vegas lounge singer. Vickers said he has a toe in Jewish culture as the husband of a Jewish woman.
In addition to the festival, Kosha Dillz and Swig have collaborated to set up the Seder Stream Facebook group, which collects and promotes livestreams of Passover seders from around the world.
Among the dozens seders that have been shared: a seder conducted in Yiddish, an LGBTQ seder with transgender author-activist Abby Stein, an election-oriented political seder, and seders geared toward fans of cannabis, Harry Potter and the video game Minecraft.
“It’s been like a Passover miracle to us,” Swig said of the Facebook group.
On the second night of Passover, Swig and Kosha Dillz participated in a Zoom seder originating in Australia — which was in the middle of the night in California.
“The coolest part about seder hopping with Seder Stream is seeing all the different ways people are adapting and celebrating the Passover traditions this year,” Swig said.
For Raphi Danan, a British entrepreneur living in Jaffa, Israel, taking part in a virtual seder led by Americans was “the peak of all of the virtual encounters” he has had under quarantine. He learned about it from the Seder Stream Facebook group.
“I have never been to that side of the pond, so I really wanted to see what it was like for a community of people in San Francisco and L.A. to come together and celebrate the ultimate redemption,” Danan said, “and it was really beautiful to see.”
Kosha Dillz immigrated to Israel six month ago, saying he needed a change of pace and because “the musical talent there is the best in the world.” He continues to tour internationally, and has performed at numerous festivals, including Coachella last year. He recently released a new song with Matisyahu called “For the Ones.”
Kosha Dillz said he is committed to helping other independent artists like him survive this crisis. “I’m known for being a hustler and hard worker, and I want to switch the tone to being a giver right now,” he said.
Last week, Kosha Dillz livestreamed himself leading a short seder, which he then edited to five minutes and uploaded to YouTube.
‘We’re in a plague right now, and we’re gonna get out of it, and one day rappers will make money again on tour,” he jokes in the video.
After Passover ends on Thursday, April 16, Kosha Dillz and Swig plan to promote another Facebook group they run, Shabbat Streams, which has been collecting streams of Shabbat services from around the world.
“Not everyone’s into their grandma’s Jewishness,” Swig said. “It’s important to recognize where you come from, but it’s important to chart a new path, too. What we’re trying to do is allow people to experience a whole different Jewishness, which they didn’t have access to before.”
Added the rapper: “We’re proud of our identity. We just do it our own way.”
BY ANDREW ESENSTEN | APRIL 14, 2020
https://www.jweekly.com/2020/04/14/rapper-kosha-dillz-organizes-virtual-passover-music-fest/
GOAT MY VALENTINE IN THE SF CHRONICLE! 1,000 ATTENDEES!
Cloved hearts: Most often, a cherub armed with a bow-and-arrow is the classic Valentine’s Day graphic. But for scene-maker and Value Culture founder Adam Swig, his symbol is personified by goats — those cloven-hoofed, horned members of the biological Bovidae family.
And on Feb. 14 in North Beach, Swig hosted his third annual Goat My Valentine fundraiser for City Grazing, the Bayview goat-powered sustainable land management nonprofit that rents its nimble critters to chomp overgrown backyard weeds or reduce fire hazards on tricky terrain.
“If you can’t love a human this Valentine’s Day, love a goat,” joked Swig. “And with climate change, it’s not PC to say ‘Be My Valentine’ because bees are at risk and we need to let them be, and pollinate.”
The festive fete was held at Green Street and Columbus Avenue in a long-vacant building that was a neighborhood eyesore. But last November, Recreation Sound Systems entrepreneur Gregory Castellanos dreamed up Local Maker Mart, activating the space as a vibrant pop-up of hand-crafted goods by local artists.
Swig’s free event drew more than 1,000 revelers. But the $3K raised for City Gazing was achieved by selling $15 Snapfiesta photos of guests with the goats. However, they could jump the long line with a $30 VIG (Very Important Goat) ticket.
“By transforming from a novelty landscaping company into a nonprofit, we’ve been able do so much more for the community,” said City Grazing Executive Director Genevieve Church. “We’ve developed a Conservation Corps and at-risk youth training program with the Sheriff’s Department. And we also provide retired dairy goats with a career change.”
Since establishing Value Culture, Swig is on a roll engaging Millennials in culture, philanthropy and community: His goat guests spilled out over North Beach, filling neighborhood bars and restaurants.
And last month, at his Take a Swig birthday celebration, curated in conjunction with Night of Ideas (co-presented by the French Consulate) at the San Francisco Main Library, every Value Culture attendee received a free one-year Friends of the San Francisco Public Library membership.
“Value Culture’s mission is so good to the nonprofits it helps,” enthused Church. “I think of Adam as my favorite unicorn on the planet.”
Take a Swig Value Culture VIP Bash at the main SF Public Library Night of Ideas featured in the Nob Hill Gazette
ART Party with Value Culture, Gagosian, Ever Gold, & more friends mentioned in the SF Chronicle
Andrew McClintock’s Ever Gold Projects teamed up with Gagosian, Lobus and scene-maker Adam Swig for a Natoma Cabana shindig, attracting Millennial fans of Untitled, Art — an entire other fair coinciding with Fog.
Captured Repping Value Culture in the Nob Hill Gazette’s coverage of “A Star-Studded Dreamfest”
Josh Constine, editor-at-large at TechCrunch, with young philanthropist and event entrepreneur Adam Swig repping his newly formed nonprofit Value Culture.
https://nobhillgazette.com/a-star-studded-dreamfest/
By Drew Altizer Photography
Hanukkah in Paris Toy Drive 2019 in the SF Chronicle
Photo by Jho Vilar
Festival of Lights: Hot on the heels of his new nonprofit, Value Culture, event entrepreneur Adam Swig recently hosted his sixth Hanukkah in Paris fundraiser at the Kabuki Hotel.
And 500 pretty young things swarmed the quirky fete featuring burlesque dancers Ava Lanche and Barbie Bloodgloss, accordian player Breezy Bellows, Army veteran-turned-DJ Brandon Beach and live music by California Groove.
The evening benefited Reboot, a nonprofit reimaging Jewish culture and tradition and Swig’s efforts to engage a new generation in supporting culture and philanthropy by having fun and, sometimes, even meeting their perfect match.
But the heart of this spirited boogie is presents — new and unwrapped for the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program.
“Like a Hanukkah menorah, this event gives light to children in need,” explains Swig. “A big part of every event I produce is rooted in Tikkun olam, which is Hebrew for heal the world.”
2018 Triple I Awards
Photo: Catherine Bigelow
Festival of Lights: Hanukkah and the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel were recently celebrated by the Triple I (Italian-Israeli-Irish) Society at the Italian Athletic Club.
The festive afternoon also honored three community leaders: Contemporary Jewish Museum Executive Director Lori Starr, Jewish Community Center Security Chief Matt Epstein (also chief of Dry Creek Rancheria Fire Department) and philanthropy entrepreneur Adam Swig.
Yet whether a guest or dais grandee, a majority of folks received shout-outs throughout this heartfelt lunch. Judge Quentin Kopp, a society co-president, also honored club secretary John Shimmon, a 95-year-old World War II vet, with the Triple I Lifetime Achievement Award: “In his 63 years with the Triple I, Abraham John Shimmon has never missed a meeting and has served with generosity, kindness and love.”
Then it was Kopp’s turn to be surprised when Supervisor Aaron Peskin conferred the same award upon the judge.
The other honorees also voiced thanks: “I want to thank Judge Kopp for recognizing the role that museums play in creating a civil, global society and making a city vibrant,” said executive director Starr. “And I dedicate this award to my parents. My father’s family immigrated here to escape the Russian pograms. Israel is an important part of my identity.”
Entrepreneur Swig credited his grandmother, civic leader Roselyne Swig, with inspiring his activism to organize events designed to engage a young tech crowd to benefit the Jewish community.
“This is so cool,” enthused Swig, still rocking his long, curly S.F. Giants rally locks. “I love everything about San Francisco. One thing my family has taught me is ‘Tikkun olam,’ which means ‘Heal the world.’ That’s what drives me every day.”
-Catherine Bigelow
Special Mention in The J!
Jewish philanthropy must be more than a one-day event
The annual S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation’s Day of Philanthropy is once again upon us. Nationally known speakers, donors and thought leaders will gather Nov. 19 at San Francisco’s Hyatt Regency Hotel to discuss the state of Jewish community charitable giving in the Bay Area and beyond. It’s always an impressive event, but we must add this caveat: When it comes to Jewish philanthropy, it’s hardly a matter of one day. Rather, it is the year-round oxygen that makes our community strong.
This week’s Charitable Giving supplement paints a portrait of a Jewish community mobilized to do good. You will read about Day of Philanthropy honoree Alvin Baum, a pioneer in the Bay Area LGBTQ community’s fight for equal rights and a prolific donor to multiple causes, Jewish, gay and otherwise. You will read about Salesforce founder and native San Franciscan Marc Benioff’s commitment to fold charitable giving into his corporate ethos. And you will hear directly from prominent community leaders such as philanthropist Tad Taube and the Federation’s East Bay director of philanthropy Lisa Tabak on the centrality of giving to the maintenance of Jewish communal life.
But let us take some time to focus on Adam Swig, all of 34, grandson of one of the Bay Area’s most beloved philanthropists, Roselyne “Cissy” Swig, and himself a 21st-century pioneer in new ways to encourage charitable giving.
As Swig told J. in our cover story this week, he seeks to make his uniquely generational form of philanthropy “fun, filling it with joy.”
By staging huge themed events and parties through his nonprofit Value Culture, he has hit on a way to draw in young adults like himself, lure them with the promise of entertainment, then hook them with the surprisingly potent satisfaction of giving back. He has raised money for Birthright Israel, the S.F. Jewish Film Festival, the Jewish innovation hub Reboot and many more. And always to a good beat you can dance to.
The example of Swig should reassure those who worry about the future of Jewish philanthropy. As long as creative young people like Adam Swig are doing their thing, we will always have an emerging cadre of philanthropists committed to the preservation of our precious Jewish community.
We hope this special issue of J. will inspire readers to take part, dig deep and experience the joys of giving.
https://www.jweekly.com/2019/11/19/jewish-philanthropy-must-be-more-than-a-one-day-event/
Spreading the message however we can…
Photograph: John Lee
Meet Our 2019 ‘Most Eligibles’
What happens when a radio personality, a gallerist, an attorney, a fashion designer and other successful singles gather together for a photoshoot in a clubby, Ken Fulk-designed corner of the Wayfare Tavern? Magic! Behold a Bay Area tradition: the Gazette’s annual tribute to the bachelors and bachelorettes who make the City a vibrant place to work, play and dream. Meet this year’s group — from Adam Swig to Moanalani Jeffrey, they prove single is the new fabulous.
When you meet entrepreneur Adam Swig, the first thing you’ll notice is his long, curly hair — a flourish of Bay Area cool that he’s been thinking about cutting for a charitable cause. Now, some might say, “Don’t do it, Adam!” But Swig, who’s got philanthropy in his DNA, will no doubt look as hip with a close crop as he does now. His next venture: A nonprofit that he hopes will encourage the next generation to “enhance culture in the Bay Area” — and give back to the community.
-Erin Carlson
Legendary Late Shabbat After Party mentioned in the J Weekly
…Danielle, a 25-year-old Catholic, said she looks forward to Late Shabbat every month. She attends the service with her Jewish boyfriend and other friends. “You get to meet a lot of interesting people. No one cares that I’m a different religion,” she said. “It feels very — nonjudgmental.”
The social element of Late Shabbat was universally acknowledged, as was the possibility one might find a romantic connection. This night had even more intriguing possibilities, as after the oneg, many of the attendees took Ubers to Ireland’s 32, a sports bar in the Richmond District, for a raucous after-party hosted by noted millennial Jewish party planner Adam Swig…
“Shabbat is this 4,000-year-old tradition that has kept us going, kept us alive, and kept us centered,” Rabbi Mintz said. “In 2019, we need it more than ever.”
https://www.jweekly.com/2019/11/12/late-shabbat-tacos-beer-and-20-years-of-young-adult-tribe-in-s-f/
On the Art Scene
Friday: Shabbat, S.F.-style
Friday, Jan. 18, is Ever Gold Projects’ official 10th anniversary party at Chinatown dive bar EZ5, co-hosted with McClintock by DJ Eug (Eugene Whang) and Adam Swig. The evening begins with a traditional Jewish Shabbat breaking of the challah, which has “Ever Gold” baked into it.
“Shabbat is supposed to be a sundown thing, but it’s San Francisco,” jokes Swig. “We do what we want.”
Swig continues, comparing the light of the Shabbat candles to the light that art shines on a community. McClintock originally started Ever Gold in a space in the Tenderloin before moving to Minnesota Street Project two years ago. It’s been quite the ride, he says, straddling the line between catering to traditional collectors and attracting the younger tech generation to the gallery (Ever Gold even accepts cryptocurrency). Once the old-school hip-hop bumps up on the speakers, it becomes less an art week party and more a night at the club. McClintock later reports he was out until 5 a.m. celebrating.
“I think we need to have one of these every year, at art week,” he says.
Lesson: Sundown is subjective in the art world, bitcoin is forever. (Maybe?)
-Tony Bravo
SXSW EMPIRE SHABBAT MAKES THE AUSTIN NEWS, TWICE
The final Friday at SXSW brought an excited crowd to Empire Control Room in downtown Austin for the second annual Empire Shabbat party on March 15. Complete with candle lighting, challah, pizza, music from DJ Amuse and indie-folk duo JonZ, freestyle rapping by Kosha Dillz, and plenty of schmoozing, this Shabbat observance was like no other.
San Francisco-based promoter Adam Swig, along with Kosha Dillz and Open Table created and hosted the event with support from Angel Events, Shalom Austin, Reboot, Shabbat Tent, Girl at a Rock Show, and At The Well.
Swig explained the goal of Empire Shabbat is to bring visitors and locals together during SXSW for a unique community Shabbat experience.
“It’s a mission of ours to show and create unity of our culture, and also to bring like-minded organizations and groups with great messages together to create a space to unplug for Friday amongst the electricity that is SXSW,” Swig explained. “What better place than the backyard of Empire, an oasis in the center of it all, to allow participants to recharge with some food and good conversation at the festival?!”
Kosha Dillz said, “If it isn't broke, don't fix it! We love to fulfill the need. There is a need for this one come Friday of SXSW Music. Hopefully next year we can arrange for it to be an official event.”
Before sundown, JonZ played a lively acoustic set before Kosha Dillz joined them on the mic for an impromptu freestyle jam while DJ Amuse beatboxed, and the crowd cheered them on in what was a high point of the evening.
Following the reciting of the Shabbat blessings and candle lighting, the crowd passed around loaves of challah, breaking bread together like family.
Kosha Dillz’s freestyle finale involved audience participation using items from the crowd for inspiration for his on-the-spot lyrics.
“Shout out to the challah bread, the pickles and the beatbox. This all is underground. Right now, there’s an enormous tree in the background. I’m representing for flow like it’s on fire. So make some noise for Shabbat at Empire,” rhymed Kosha Dillz.
-Wendy Goodman and Tonyia Cone
New Jersey native and Jewish hip-hop lyricist Kosha Dillz, née Rami Even-Esh, returned this year to SXSW, the festival that helped ignite his musical career. As part of his South By circuit, Kosha Dillz along with promoter Adam Swig hosted a uniquely Austin Shabbat gathering at Empire Control Room and Garage’s outdoor stage Friday evening, March 16. In observance of Shabbat, Kosha Dillz led the audience in candle lighting, a recitation of Kiddush and the HaMotzi blessing before sharing wine and challah with more than 100 excited fans. As the sun set on Austin’s downtown skyline, Kosha Dillz kicked off the night with a freestyle rap that was funny, spiritual, interactive and in three languages: English, Hebrew and Spanish. The audience cheered, laughed and joined with him in a what can only be described as a joyous song-fest, niggunim.
-Tonyia Cone and Wendy Goodman
The First Hanukkah in Paris in the San Francisco Chronicle
Bright lights: A new holiday tradition unfolded last Friday at the Clift Hotel, where Adam Swig and Adrian Goddard organized a new seasonal fete: Hanukkah in Paris.
With a subhead that read, “Une Soiree Inoubliable pour une Bonne Cause,” most of the 250 très stylish guests did indeed “party with a purpose” as they arrived with donation gifts for either the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots or Project Glimmer.
Realizing that a gaping void exists between such December events as tree trimmings or the more raucous booze-fest that is SantaCon, Swig was determined to create a celebration for young people in the Jewish community, who Tuesday evening, Dec. 16, commenced the eight-day festival of Hanukkah.
His theme, inspired by Swig’s notion that Paris provides a fun setting, was expertly expressed by DJ Frenchy le Freak and sweet La Boulange treats.
However, Swig was a bit hesitant to hold the party on Friday as that night signals the beginning of Shabbat.
“But I realized this party is really more 'Jew-dash-ish,’” he said, with a laugh. “It’s not a kosher event, it’s cultural.”
It is also philanthropic — benefiting two organizations that Swig, an EssEff native and event consultant, felt needed a holiday assist.
Toys for Tots is a classic. Project Glimmer, founded in 2009 by Sonja Hoel Perkins, is fairly new and focused on enriching the lives of at-risk teen girls with gifts of new makeup or costume jewelry.
Swig said that philanthropic concept was ingrained in him by his grandmother, civic leader Cissie Swig.
“She has inspired me in our faith and made me think about what we can also do for our community at large,” he said.
“My grandmother was accepted to the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative at the age of 82,” he marveled. “That’s kind of amazing. Her passion for learning and life encouraged me to look around and see what change I might effect in my own backyard.”
https://www.sfgate.com/style/article/Storm-can-t-dampen-Wilsey-party-5960555.php#photo-7277524
Innovation Alley, Tech + Community
Adam Swig photo/daniel murphy
Israel in the Gardens | Innovation Alley will showcase high-tech startups, nonprofits
Adam Swig is becoming a go-to guy for putting together exciting events for young, community-minded San Francisco Jews. His latest offering: Innovation Alley, a new component of Israel in the Gardens celebrating high-tech and nonprofit startups.
“Word travels fast in the Jewish community,” said Swig, who helped organize the successful “Big Mitzvah” celebration for the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation’s Young Funders’ Impact Grants Initiative (IGI) earlier this year. It didn’t take long for the Israel Center to tap him to come up with something innovative for young people at this year’s Israel in the Gardens.
“I have met a lot of young Israelis who are tech entrepreneurs, so I thought it would be great to celebrate them and what they are doing,” Swig said. Inspired by the SXSW Interactive Festival model, a coming-together of the brightest minds in emerging technology, he decided to set up an area in the alley-like space between Yerba Buena Gardens and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts dedicated to Israeli tech innovation.
Visitors will find tented booths and tables where companies and cutting-edge nonprofits — all with a Jewish or Israeli connection — will showcase their products and their missions. “Young people should bring their resumes, and venture capitalists should bring their checkbooks,” said Swig.
“It will be good for showcasing, but it’s really about coming together as a community and networking with friends and colleagues,” according to Omri Mor, founder and CEO of ZIIBRA, a subscription service for creative artists. Mor, an Israeli-American, was introduced to Swig by a professional mentor, and immediately saw the benefit of signing up for Innovation Alley.
In addition to reconnecting with old acquaintances, he’s looking forward to meeting new people and introducing them to his company, which allows individuals to support young creative artists by buying subscription packages giving them opportunities to interact with the artists, as well as access to the artists’ work before it hits the market.
Other Innovation Alley companies include: Tapingo, an online and mobile food delivery app; Tappapp, a flirting app for live events based on location and common interests; and Tawkon, a mobile phone radiation tracker. FoldiMate will introduce people to its laundry-folding machine, and Instapparel will demonstrate how it helps people design their own clothing based on Instagram photos.
The event, sponsored by Janvest, sf.citi, Parallel Advisors and IGI, also will include accelerators like UpWest Labs, which helps tech entrepreneurs develop their products in Silicon Valley and Israel. In the event’s nonprofit component, Swig is particularly excited about the Roselyne C. Swig Tikkun Olam Innovation Prize, which will be awarded at the event to a local Jewish innovator solving global problems. The winner, determined by a judging panel of high-tech and venture capital professionals as well as a live vote by the crowd at the event, will receive $2,013 (contributed by Swig, his older brother Benjamin, and IGI), as well as a sit-down with a venture capitalist.
The award is a surprise 83rd birthday honor for his grandmother, Roselyne “Cissie” Swig, who has been an inspiration to her 28-year-old grandson, a San Francisco native who worked for years for the Giants, starting as a bat boy. More recently, he’s been working as a tech consultant, and his grandmother’s been in Boston this year studying in the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative. A well-known Jewish civic leader, she’s encouraged her grandson’s desire to give back to the community.
“I was actually on vacation with my grandmother and asking her for advice about how I could step up my involvement with the Jewish community when I got the call inviting me to join IGI,” Adam Swig recalled. “I’ve been very involved in the sports and entertainment worlds in recent years, but my first job was actually as a second-grade teaching assistant at Temple Emanu-El. I feel like I’ve now come full circle back to the Jewish community.”
Making sure there are ways for people to connect is high on Swig’s priority list. With the younger, tech-savvy crowd in mind, there will be event-organizing and dating-service apps relating to Innovation Alley, as well as the Israel in the Gardens pre-party that the energetic Swig is also helping to organize.
But you don’t have to be especially young or technologically proficient to enjoy Innovation Alley. There will be a phone-charging station, which will be a good place to juice-up your mobile device and chat with other people doing the same thing.
“There’s something for everyone,” Swig said. “It’s really about building community.”