Scenes Around Town

4

Jewish young adults and singles gather for coffee,
hayrides and dancing— and spontaneous meetings.

ELI NATINSKY
Special to the Jewish News

The Ultimate Annual HMD Hayride
The time flew, and so did the hay
— literally — at Hillel's Ultimate Hay
Ride, Sunday, Oct. 19, at Maybury
State Park.
A roaring fire, abundance of ballads
and multitude of mingling provided
warmth on the
chilly autumn eve.
Participants
(totaling 120) gath-
ered under and near
an open-air pavilion
— which was dark.
Save for the afore-
mentioned blaze,
there was very little
light. This provided
a special challenge
to participants seeking old friends and
familiar acquaintances.
The event required hiking boots
and flannel shirts, but a candle or
lantern would have been equally apro-
pos. But the darkness didn't stop Bryce
Sandler, Ari Berris and Fred Lusky.
Marcy Schwartzman caught up with
old friends, and Rachel Bordrnan was
"impressed with the turn-out." New
Jersey native and National Federation
of Temple Youth adviser Jason Rivchin,
along with friend Tanya Shaye, noted
the pleasures and perks of Midwestern
living — such as hayrides. Jessica Tam
took a break from her studies at the
University of Michigan to fling hay,
and Asya Shein shared news and notes
with the group.
As they say in the land of the cheer-
ful timothy tenders:
"A good time was had by all."
Yeeeee-haw.

Break-the-Fast Dance
Two-hundred and fifty danced,
danced, danced the night away at the
JPS "Break-the-Fast Dance," Saturday,
Oct. 11, at Beth Abraham Hillel
Moses. Streamers cascaded from the
ceiling, and balloons filled the air —
red, black and white were the colors of
choice.
The food — mixed fruit, cheese,

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crackers and baked goods — was
extraordinarily fresh, and the drink was
most tasty. A D.J. played lively tunes,
including "the Macarena." The syna-
gogue was truly, alive with the sound
of music. (Although there was very lit-
tle yodeling.) The majority of those
who put in an appearance were
between the ages of 35 and 50.
Jeff Wolfe and Stephanie Mellen

Left: Jason W1 er,
Rachel Ruben aer,
Ian Burnstein:
Pleased with the
turnout.

fun, and more coffee and more fun.
Perhaps that would be the best descrip-
tion of Hillel of Metro
Detroit's (HMD) Oct.
6 coffee house night at
Lonestar Coffee Co. in
Birmingham. Forty
attended the shindig,
the second of four
HMD "latte of choice"
outings for the fall sea-
son. Ages ranged from
early to late 20s; most
in attendance either
held the title of grad
student or young pro-

Above: Looks like a crowd Magic Stick. Oct. 17. Young Friends
of Woodward

Right: Lisa Feldman and Cecilia Persson, smiling away the night.

spent part of the evening caught up in
conversation. Wolfe says he greatly
enjoys such singles events, as "they're
good for bringing Jewish people
together."

,

Coffee House Night
Coffee. And fun. Lots of coffee and

fessional.
HMD regular Ian Flasher goes
to lots of HMD events. The Michigan
State University grad says Sharon
Wise, Hillel program director, prods
him to take photographs of various
get-togethers.
Wise described what she deemed

a plethora of "untapped potential"
among young Jewish Detroiters —
specifically, folks
who desire to
expand their net-
work of friends and
acquaintances
through fun and
meaningfulactivi-
ties, but have not
explored such
opportunities
through Hillel.
These are the very
people who are
urged to attend an
HMD function —
or five, she urges.
HMD regulars
Rebecca Morgan,
- Rebecca Levenson
and David Persky
Above: Mugging also attended.
for the camera:
Confirming Wise's
Darcy Licht
sentiments, Persky
Eisenberg, Lisa
says at most HMD
Menuck, Andrea events, "Everybody
Rautbort and
seems to enjoy
Jocelyn Fink.
themselves."

Coffee Soiree
Coffee was again the beverage of
choice as the Jewish Professional
Singles UPS) settled in for an evening
of conversation,
company and laugh-
ter on Wednesday,
Oct. 8, at Muddee
Waters in Berkley.
JPS hosts weekly
espresso-oriented
gatherings; 20 people
attended this one.
Cindy Leven, JPS
co-founder, says one
of the group's goals is
to unify Detroit's
community of sin-
gles. Active member Jack Lewis adds,
"Everybody's welcome."
Along with organizers David
Solomons, Dorian Gluckman, Susan
Dines and treasurer/planner Harry
Pevos, JPS regular Michele Gamburd
was there, commenting on the group's
family-like atmosphere.

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