1967 was the Summer of Love, a moment that marked the start of a new counterculture that, two years later, would change the Catskills at the Woodstock festival.

But the Summer of Love also coincided with the height of the Borscht Belt era, when another culture was being created here in the mountains. Starting June 27, the Catskills Borscht Belt Museum in downtown Ellenville is bringing together these iconic periods of local history with an immersive exhibit: Catskills Romance: Love & Desire in the Borscht Belt.

Curated by Cristian Petru Panaite, a Romanian-American who sees his immigrant identity as intersecting with the concept behind the show, which he describes as a “story of finding safety, relaxation, acceptance, and ultimately your better half right outside the city.”

The exhibit is the museum’s second major installment, following And Such Small Portions! which opened during the July, 2024, Borscht Belt Festival. It’s built around a multi-layered and intimate view of the time. Panaite describes the Catskills during 1967 as a “playground for the heart.”

“It’s more than a destination or place to relax and have fun with family,” he said. “It’s a laboratory for romance.”

The big bowl of borscht in the museum will now retire, but Robin Schwartzman, the artist responsible for it, has another grand creation taking the stage. The art will honor her grandparents whose honeymoon took place in the now-ruined Nevele resort. Just what it looks like will be a surprise for visitors on opening weekend.

Schwartzman’s grandparents aren’t the only ones featured in the exhibit – there is a whole section which highlights the matchmakers and romances that formed during this time. Part of these stories were acquired from an open submission initiated by the museum, where couples submitted the story of how they met their partner in the Catskills during the Borscht Belt period.

There will also be a part of the exhibit displaying the “honeymoon packages” popularized by Grossinger’s, which Panaite said offered a free stay for people who had met and wed there, along with the usual accoutrements like champagne, fruit, and chocolate.

Borscht Belt comedians and matchmakers or “maître d's” are a key part of the exhibit, as their role as performers and activity hosts spoke on marriage (and infidelity) and sparked connections that were the impetus to many of these romances coming to fruition.

In “Cupid’s Court” many of these matchmakers, like Jennie Grossinger and Irving Cohen, are highlighted with profiles and historical photographs.

There is also a “PG-13” section, Panaite told us, structured as a “secret nook” with soundbites from couples about their romantic experiences. The oral transcripts are important to creating a parasocial experience with attendees, who can hear firsthand from couples what it was like for them to live – and love – through the golden era of the Borscht Belt.

“The Catskills was a place of being whatever you want to be, a chance to pose as someone else outside of the city and for singles looking for romance and connection. They could travel and then paint a persona, pretend they are someone they aren’t,” Panaite said.

Panaite said the exhibit also isn’t shying away from providing a “dark counterpoint” to the “idealized Catskill narratives” usually on display. He provided the example of Will Eisner’s Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories, a 1978 graphic novel about Jewish people living in the South Bronx trying to escape their bleak lives by going to the Borscht Belt and finding love.

Panaite also acknowledged that the Borscht Belt attracted not only Jewish Americans but a diverse group, who came there “for fresh air, fun, safety,” but ultimately found more. “They found love,” Panaite said.

Panaite said the most touching aspect of the exhibit is its multigenerational aspect, with children telling the stories of their parents and grandparents meeting and finding love. “There is a richness to the narrative that comes from a multigenerational experience at Borscht Belt resorts and bungalows that’s surfaced through research,” Panaite said, adding that the result of this research was “highly emotional,” and he expects “some tears from couples who fell in love at the resorts and got married there.”

There are many other sections to the exhibit as well, almost too much to include in one article, including “...And Then There Was Dancing,” which features Latin music and, of course, scenes from Dirty Dancing.

The team beyond Panaite as lead-curator includes Collections Curator Mackensie Griffin and Graphic Designer Victoria Messner.

The museum is also leading a storytelling workshop led by The Moth’s Corey Rosen, live music by The Starlite Duo, and a 100^th birthday celebration for Borscht Belt comedian Mel Brooks, which will include a panel discussion and after-party, the weekend of the 27^th.

The opening reception will take place on Saturday, June 27 at 7 p.m. RSVP to the event following the link here: https://www.borschtbeltmuseum.org/calendar/catskills-romance-love-desire-opening-reception. The Borscht Belt Museum is located at 90 Canal Street, Ellenville, and their hours of operation are Wednesday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.