John Singer, from 51ºÚÁÏ County, prays with Tefillin at a Mitzvah Wall booth Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, during the fourth annual St. Charles Jewish Festival on the parking lot at the Lewis and Clark Boathouse in St. Charles. The Tefillin contain Torah verses written on parchment scrolls that are kept in the two black boxes.
ST. CHARLES — When Matt Milter was approached about his employer, Peoples National Bank, sponsoring the St. Charles Jewish Festival, he joked that he thought there weren’t any other Jewish people in the county.
John Singer, from 51ºÚÁÏ County, prays with Tefillin at a Mitzvah Wall booth Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, during the fourth annual St. Charles Jewish Festival on the parking lot at the Lewis and Clark Boathouse in St. Charles. The Tefillin contain Torah verses written on parchment scrolls that are kept in the two black boxes.
David Carson, Post-Dispatch
Mordy Kurtz, left, and Yosef Peysin of the Rogers Park Band, a Hasidic folk rock band from Chicago, perform for the crowd during the fourth annual St. Charles Jewish Festival on the parking lot at the Lewis and Clark Boathouse in St. Charles on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. The event drew thousands of people and featured food, music, religious activities and a shuk market.
David Carson, Post-Dispatch
Arie Fisher, 7, from 51ºÚÁÏ County, plays with bubbles floating through the air Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, at the fourth annual St. Charles Jewish Festival on the parking lot at the Lewis and Clark Boathouse in St. Charles. The event drew thousands of people and featured food, music and religious activities.
David Carson, Post-Dispatch
People mingle and talk at the fourth annual St. Charles Jewish Festival that featured food, music, religious activities, and a shuk on the parking lot at the Lewis and Clark Boathouse in St. Charles on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. The event organized by Chabad Jewish Center of St. Charles County and The Gan St. Charles Preschool drew thousands of people.
David Carson, Post-Dispatch
A message is posted to a printed mural of the Western Wall at a Mitzvah Wall booth at the fourth annual St. Charles Jewish Festival on the parking lot at the Lewis and Clark Boathouse in St. Charles on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. The event drew thousands of people and featured food, music, religious activities and a shuk market.
David Carson, Post-Dispatch
Linda Hermsmeier drops garlic into her jar of pickle ingredients at a make your own pickles booth during the fourth annual St. Charles Jewish Festival on the parking lot at the Lewis and Clark Boathouse in St. Charles on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. The event drew thousands of people and featured food, music, religious activities and a shuk market.
David Carson, Post-Dispatch
View life in 51ºÚÁÏ through the Post-Dispatch photographers' lenses. Edited by Jenna Jones.
"There was no way for people to come together," said Rabbi Chaim Landa. "People felt like they were the only Jew in St. Charles County."
John Singer, from 51ºÚÁÏ County, prays with Tefillin at a Mitzvah Wall booth Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, during the fourth annual St. Charles Jewish Festival on the parking lot at the Lewis and Clark Boathouse in St. Charles. The Tefillin contain Torah verses written on parchment scrolls that are kept in the two black boxes.
