2024 Festival

16 Cubits 2024 took place at Urban Adamah October 13-20!

If you are interested in getting involved in next year's festival, please reach out to hello@16cubits.org

SUKKOT SYMPOSIUM - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2-6:30 PM

2:00 – 4:00 pm | Shelves My Friends Built with Me | Orchard Sukkah

In a collaborative two-hour session, we will build objects for the shelves and design personalized items to display, fostering creativity and craftsmanship. Using materials like plaster cloth, paperclay, and sculpting tools, we aim to emphasize the value of collective making and thoughtful creation beyond the finished product.

2:00 – 2:30 pm | Tasting Sukkot’s Seven Species | Turf Sukkah

Join us as we taste the fruits of a journey from a Jerusalem food forest to a sustainable chocolate business here in the Bay. Along the way, we’ll explore unique approaches to sustainability through the lens of a local food business named after the very same Seven Species, which feature so prominently throughout the festival of Sukkot. Unique sweet recipes showcasing the Seven Species will be shared for you to try at home, along with a special chocolate treat for you to sample on the spot!

2:30 – 3:00 pm | Purple Ribbon Ritual with Shalom Bayit | Turf Sukkah

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Sukkot gives us an opportunity to reflect on what it can be like to not have a safe or permanent place to call home. In honor of survivors of abuse, you will be invited to tie a purple ribbon, the symbol of domestic violence awareness, onto the sukkah while reading a line from our "Remember Me" blessing.

2:30 – 3:30 pm | Ornament, Fractals, and Tzelem Elohim | Yurt

From foliated friezes to snaking spirals, gruesome gargoyles to graceful guilloches, humans have used ornament for millennia to adorn our objects and buildings, both sacred and mundane. If we expand the idea of the “Image of the Divine we are made in” to encompass all of creation, we realize that the production of ornament and beauty at all scales is a sacred undertaking. In this hour-long workshop, we’ll learn about the history of adornment and try our hand at ornamenting a small object using inspiration we find on the farm.

2:30 – 3:30 pm | Elderberry Syrup Making | Community Kitchen

Join us for a hands-on workshop with Urban Adamah’s Allegra Guarino, where we’ll craft our own elderberry syrup, a natural remedy to help boost your immunity for the winter months. Learn how to create this delicious and beneficial elixir, perfect for staying well as the seasons change, and take home your own batch to keep your household healthy. Best for adults and youth 10+.

3:30 – 4:15 pm | Make, Shake, and Wake: Local Lulav Crafting | Amphitheater Sukkah

Join us for a hands-on lulav-making workshop with Rabbi Julie Saxe Taller and Joel Gerwein. We'll explore some texts about the lulav and learn creative approaches to adapt this tradition using local species. Then, we'll craft our own lulavim and bring them to life with a celebratory shake!

3:30 – 4:15 pm | Which Came First: Shelter or Sacredness? | Yurt

Kohelet, Mishnah Sukkot, & Contemporary Design Theory

To situate the creativity of 16 Cubits within its roots—the 3500-year-old ingathering festival of Sukkot—we will study together and compare the spiritual designs of contemporary architects and planners, the Talmud, and the Book of Kohelet.

4:15 – 5:00 pm | Farm Harvest | Field

Celebrate Sukkot with a hands-on harvest workshop on the farm! As we gather fresh produce, we’ll honor the bounty of the harvest and our connection to the land. Come learn, harvest, and take home the fruits of the farm as we share in the gratitude and abundance of this special time of year. Open to all ages!

4:15 – 5:00 pm | Taking BioBased Materials to Scale | Yurt

Local Architect David Arkin (Arkin Tilt Architects) and Engineer Rocky Cohen (Verdant Structural Engineers) will share and discuss the newest versions of age-old natural, biobased building technologies, and how these can be taken to scale, ultimately making buildings our Earth’s sixth carbon sink. Examples at work in buildings around the world will be shown including hands-on physical samples.

5:00 – 6:30 pm | Sukkot Music Jam w. Sacred Music Fellowship | Amphitheater Sukkah

Bring your friends, bring your families, bring your instruments, and bring your voices to join the East Bay community for a Sukkot community jam. Bring your own food, drink, and something to sit on. If you play an instrument, please bring your own music stand. Song sheets with chords will be provided. We look forward to making music with you!