WE MAKE HAPPY MEMORIES

AT A BETTER PRICE

JEWEL KOSHER CATERERS

Specializing In:

• Weddings • Bar/Bat Mitzvahs
• Anniversaries • Showers • Confirmations
• House Parties • Garden Parties • Etc.

We Cater At Most Synagogues, Temples, Hotels
And The Hall Of Your Choice
PHILLIP TEWEL, Food and Beverage Director

(810) 661-4050

or (810) 968-1200

Under supervision of
The Council of Orthodox Rabbis

U.S. Blades/Laser World

* * *

* * *, Family Fun Center

5700 Drake Rd. W. Bloomfield, MI 48322

(810) 661-4200

A Party Center That's Out Of This
World But So Close To Home!

Featuring:

• Rollerblading •

Largest Rollerink Facility in Oakland County

• Laser Tag •

State of the Art Multi-Level Interactive Laser Tag

CM

•Giant Video Arcade •
•Bungee Jump Trampoline •
• 50's Style Diner •
• Disc Jockey •

Helping Hands

Experts are plentiful to help you with that
special affair:

LIZ STEVENS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

0

eborah Luria and Leslie
Sternberg sit at opposite
ends of the party-throwing
spectrum, at least insofar as
the fetes they threw in 1995 and
1994.
Jamie Luria's bar mitzvah last
August was a study in do-it-your-
self frugality: Mom Deborah, her
sister, cousins and husband craft-
ed the table centerpieces and
rounded up inexpensive give-
aways and decorations; the fami-
ly brought in pizza and pasta from
Romano's, hit Party Giant during
its going-out-of-business clearance,
and held the celebration at the
Birmingham Temple, where, be-
cause they're members, the cost
of renting the space was under
$300.
Mervyn Sternberg's surprise
60th birthday party, on the other
hand, may have set a new local
standard for elegance and opu-
lence: Held inside and outside the
Gem Theatre in September 1994,
his wife employed a party planner
and 10 other creative minds —
from florist to band to videogra-
pher. Appetizers included Belu-
ga caviar and foie grass she had the
bathrooms repainted, brought in
her own washroom attendants,
parking, bar and waitstaff; and
guests walked away with a CD or
cassette of Andrew Lloyd Web-
ber's greatest hits.
Both women regard their par-
ties as great successes. And, de-
spite the difference in costs, both
affairs also required an extensive
amount of pre-planning, organi-
zation and professional help,
which, in this community, there
seems to be no shortage of.

Event planners and caterers,
florists and artists, photographers
and videographers, DJs and bands,
businesses that specialize in linens,
cakes, props, invitations and off-
beat entertainment — between
them they offer services for just
about any size, budget, space and
style, plus loads of great advice.
"Most people don't know how
to throw parties," says Janice
Levin-Gorelick, a caterer and par-
ty planner who works out of the
Birmingham Temple.
Party planners provide the one-
stop shopping that many party
givers are looking for. They're
equipped and willing to do as
much or as little as a client needs,
from stuffing envelopes to finding
a band to picking out gifts for the
bridesmaids.
"Some people are just over-
whelmed by the idea (of enter-
taining)," says Marcy Tucker
Colman, who with her partner
Janice Meyer Cherkasky owns
Gourmet Parties in Franklin. The
business has found a niche in the
bar/bat mitzvah market, and spe-
cializes in theme parties.
"We know who to go to in a
flash, who's reputable," says Ms.
Cherkasky. "We know what's go-
ing to work in these places, what
the ceiling heights are, whether
centerpieces will look too small,
whether we can hang them over
the table ..."
Event coordinators can also
help hosts work within the con-
straints of their budgets. That may
sound ironic since a planner's ser-
vices can cost in the thousands of
dollars, but they can often save

HELPING HANDS page C56