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AROUND TOWN

Family Ties

Temple Israel's new couples club hosts bowling mixer with a twist.

Amy Scapelliti of Farmington Hills and Nancy Monteleone of Orchard Lake

B

owling is usually a casual sport, but when about 20 couples arrived at Langan's
Northwest Lanes in Farmington Hills April 25, the men all brought along neck-
ties. The snappy attire was part of a "Mai Tai" bowling event sponsored by the
Imagine group of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield. The couples
ranged in age from 30-50.
"We put all the ties in a basket and randomly pulled out two at
a time," explained Shelly Meltzer of Farmington Hills, treasurer
of the temple's couples' club. "The two couples who belonged
with those ties were placed on a lane for the first frame. Then the
couple with the top score jumped over to the next lane, and so
on, for all 10 frames?'
Meltzer says the tie twist took people out of their comfort
zones and enabled them to strike up conversations they might
not have otherwise started. The second game was "free choice?'
The evening also included snacks, deserts and a cash bar fea-
turing Mai Tai's. Temple Israel's Imagine group already serves

Bruce and Stacey Goldberg of Walled Lake

Allen and Amy Vine of West Bloomfield

singles and couples in their 20s and 30s; Temple Israel affiliation is not required.
The synagogue also has a "Treasures" group for seniors.
"But we noticed there was a niche that was not being filled for couples in their 30s-50s,"
said Meltzer. "We had a kickoff event in February where almost 100 couples attended!'
Regarding the evening of bowling, "We're confident a good (tie-m' was had by all," she
said.
Spotted in the crowd were: Amy and Allen Vine, Gayle and Darrin Elias, Tracey and
Jeff Katzen and Franci and Greg Hirsch, all of West Bloomfield; Sandy and Michael
Lumberg, Alyssa and Josh Tobias, and Amy and Stephen Scapelliti, all of Farmington
Hills; Stacey and Bruce Goldberg of Walled Lake; and Nancy and John Monteleone of
Orchard Lake.

Temple Israel's next couples' club event is Shabbat Under the Stars, Friday,
June 26. Picnic dinner at 6 p.m., services at 7:30 p.m. and an oneg bonfire
sing-along just for couples' club members and their families following services.

Marla and Jeff Kaminsky of West Bloomfield

Josh and Alyssa Tobias of Farmington Hills

May 7 2009

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