Frozen in Time

Crowd stages "freeze" at Somerset to tout Walk4Friendship.

Lauren Todaro

Special to the Jewish News

A

bout 950 people froze in place at
the Somerset Collection in Troy
at exactly 6 p.m. Wednesday,
Aug. 18. This creative "flash mob" was
organized by the Friendship Circle, a West
Bloomfield-based nonprofit that works
with children with special needs and their
families.
Participants gathered at 5 p.m. on the
rooftop of the mall's north parking struc-
ture where they concealed their matching
"Walk4Friendship" T-shirts, synched
their watches and phones and descended
down into the mall. By 5:45pm, a crowd
of people began to build in "the Grand
Court" — the lower level atrium on the
north side of Somerset.
At 6 p.m. sharp, an eerie hush descended
slowly upon the mall and "the Freeze" began.
For five minutes, time stopped and the mob

of 950 people froze in place while doing
various actions. Some people froze midway
through turning the page of a book; others
froze in the midst of taking a picture.
Looking down upon the frozen mob
were hundreds of curious onlookers
gathered around the railing of the mall's
second and third levels.
At 6:05pm, the sound of bustling began
to emerge from inside the mob as the 950
participants unfroze and began unveiling
their concealed "Walk4Friendship" T-shirts.
The mob then turned into a sea of purple
shirts and movement again filled the Grand
Court as the sounds of excited banter, clap-
ping and enthusiastic hollers filled the mall.
"The flash mob accomplishes a few key
goals:' said Bassie Shemtov, Friendship
Circle director. "It gets attention both
publicly and virally. It creates a curiosity
among strangers at the event and it cre-
ates great, unique footage for the media.
It also is a great way to mobilize our local

community in a fun,
interactive way.
"This Freeze is
essentially inviting, the
Metro Detroit com-
munity to 'freeze' time
from their busy sched-
Matt Seiss and Jake Singer, both of West Bloomfield,
ules and dedicate five
high- five after the event is over.
minutes to bringing
awareness to our upcoming fundraiser,
Walk4Friendship."
Walk4Friendship is the organization's
annual fundraiser; it begins at 12:30
p.m. Sept. 5, at the Friendship Circle,
6892 W. Maple in West Bloomfield. The
event is open to the public. Participants
can register and donate online at www.
Walk4Friendship.com .

Right: Ryan Achtman of Walled Lake

reaches down to pick-up a set of

keys dropped by Natalie Wanetick of

Southfield during the Freeze.

Call 866-501-DOCS (3627)
for a Providence physician

Feel free to ask us Avg

Please mark your calendar and plan to attend these upcoming Dinner with the
Doctor lectures. Join our top-notch physicians in discussing the latest thinking in medi-
cal topics and the options available to keep you and your loved ones healthy.

Novi • 6:30 p.m.
September 28 Migraine
November 16 Diabetes

October 26 Menopause
December 7 Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Providence Park Hospital — Outpatient Center, Conf. Rm A, B & C
47601 Grand River (Enter off of Beck Rd., and use Heart Institute entrance)

Southfield • 6 p.m.
September 23 Alzheimer's & Caregiving October 28 Menopause
November 18 Diabetes December 9 Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Providence Hospital — Fisher Center Auditorium
16001 W. 9 Mile Rd (Use Professional Medical Building entrance)

HEALTH SYSTEMS

A PASSION for HEALING

HOSPITALS IN SOUTHFIELD AND NOVI

1615600

August 26 • 2010

41