Here's
The
Buzz
It was a honey of a day at Apples 6- Honey and Lots, Lots More.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
AppleTree Editor

CI

Above: Tami Greenberg, 10, of Oak Park is avora (bee) for the day.

Top of page: Donna Bannister shows some old friends to some new ones.

9/19
2003

66

ne of the nice things about
being a bee is that you
don't need a plane ticket
when traveling by air.
Of course, your wings might get
tired if the distance is great — say,
you've just "arrived" in Detroit from
Israel, like a certain little bee named
D'vora (aka Tamara Greenberg, 10, in
a delightful bee costume).
D'vora the Explorer (it works best if
you say it with a New York accent)
spent much of her day this past
Sunday buzzing around at Apples &
Honey and Lots, Lots More, visiting
with the more than 800 guests at
Camp Maas in Ortionville, making
certain everyone was having fun.
The annual event is brought to the
community by Federation's Alliance
for Jewish Education, the Jewish
Experiences for Families Department
(JEFF), Tamarack Camps and the
Detroit Jewish News. This year's event
was chaired by Margery Klausner,
Susan Langnas-Feber, Beth Raz and
Lori Webberman.
The D'vora the Explorer theme ran
throughout the event (devora is
Hebrew for "bee"), with posters with
fun bee messages and D'vora pictures
on booths, in cabins and outside
where families were treated to events
like candle making, tractor pulls, mak-
ing sukkah decorations, a sing-along,
donut making (where a sign outside
read "Bee Hole-y") and face painting
(where you could "Bee decorated.")
One of the most popular events was
the campfire, where visitors made
their own s'mores. Kari Levin, the
Jewish family educator at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek, was the
woman in charge.
"Grab a stick," she called as children
and adults alike lined up for marsh-
mallows, to be roasted on the camp-

fire. The table nearby was filled with
Hershey bars, graham crackers and
five large boxes of marshmallows, each
of which contained 12 bags. They
were going fast.
"Now just give it a little twist and
pull," Levin instructed as a boy
removed his toasty marshmallow,
sandwiched between a bit of graham
cracker.
Elizabeth Kirshner, 9, of Oak Park
loved making the s'mores, as did
Rachel Sabin, 6, of Bloomfield Hills.
"Making s'mores was the best," Rachel
said.
Ben Ashkenazi, 4, of Holly liked the
sing-along most of all. It was held in
the "schoolhouse," and Bens mom,
Ruth, proudly reported that not only
did Ben enjoy the sing-along, but
once it was over he started doing his
own number: The Sh'ma. "Everyone
joined in," she said.
Under a large tent not far from the
campfire, Michal Duer, a University
of Michigan student and volunteer at
Apples & Honey, was helping children
make a wish necklace. Boys and girls
wrote their dreams for a new year on a
tiny piece of paper, which was then
placed in a small bottle with a bright
rainbow-like string for a chain.
-
One little girl wrote, "I wish I had a
TV in my room." Abbey Frink, 7,
wished for a big sister.
Hannah Rose Tighe, 3, of
Commerce was having a great time
making a bracelet. Each child could
pick three colors of yarn (Hannah
opted for green, yellow and brown).
Hannah's Grammy Nettie Rosen was
with her granddaughter while Hannah
held on tight to the strings as Pat
Sharp, the camp's director of outdoor
education, twisted and twisted the
string on a small wooden contraption.
Then off popped a bracelet, and
Hannah was delighted.
The question of the day: How did
the event come to be held at Camp