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Motor On!

JCC Maccabi Games & ArtsFest return to Detroit Aug. 17.

Julie Edgar I Special to the Jewish News

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previous JCC in Detroit (now the
Northwest Activities Center) and other
venues around town.
For those involved in the past — and
those experiencing it for the first time —
Detroit's JCC Maccabi Games & ArtsFest,
Aug. 17-22, will be a time to broaden
our sense of identity, deepen our under-
standing of each other and kick the other
team's tushy.
Here's a look at some of the people par-
ticipating as hosts, athletes and artists.

Out Of Retirement
Lily and David Broner weren't planning
on housing Maccabi athletes this year;
they did it in 2008 because their grand-
son in New York had a friend coming
to town and asked. It turned out to be a
great experience, but the Broners didn't
think about raising their hand this year.
It seems, though, that one good deed
leads to another.
A few months ago, the father of
Sam Ravetz, one of the three boys who
stayed with the Broners during the 2008
Maccabi Games, sent an email: His
younger son is competing in the JCC 2014
Maccabi Games & ArtsFest; could they
give him as good of an experience as they
did his older brother?
The West Bloomfield couple gave it
some thought — it's no small thing to
house teenagers for five days. You've got
to get up early, feed them breakfast and
get them to the JCC, pick them up at
night and entertain them one or two eve-
nings during the week.
"We're ready:' Lily Broner said. "I've
cleared that whole week on my calen-
dar." She loved the Maccabi vibe and the
youthful energy evident throughout the
community in 2008. "That's why we're
doing it again:'
David Broner, who is retired, recalls
huge grocery bills in 2008 — with some
amount of pride.
"I have to rob a bank before they
come he joked, adding that he also
cleared the week to devote himself to
hosting.
They told Jeff Ravetz they'd be happy
to have Gabe, 14, who will be in town to
play basketball. He lives on Manhattan's
Upper West Side.
Jeff Ravetz plans to be in town all week
to watch his son play. He is devoted to
Maccabi as a former athlete and as a

In 2008, the Kleinfeldt family hosted three Maccabi athletes. This year, their son,
Adin, will participate in the Detroit Games.

father of two pretty good athletes. Sam,
Ravetz says, has played in Maccabi here
and in Israel, and participated in other
international games, including the Pan-
American Games in Brazil.
"Out of all those experiences, Sam
always felt his best host family experi-
ence was the Broners," Ravetz said. "He
had a warm place in his heart for them,
so we stayed in touch. When I found out
these Games were going to be in Detroit,
I thought, 'How cool would it be if Gabe
stayed with the Broners."'

Midnight Feeding
Nancy Kleinfeldt of Huntington Woods
recalls collapsing in bed after midnight
every night during the 2008 Maccabi
Games in Detroit.
The athletes staying with her — three
boys from San Francisco — would
return at 10 p.m., famished after a day
of competition, and she'd go to work,

Lily and David Broner hosted Maccabi
athletes Sam Ravetz, Jake Horowitz
and Zach Freedman in 2008.

whipping up dishes that complied with
their respective dietary mandates (no
gluten, no meat and another food allergy
that started on the West Coast). She also
washed one of the teen's baseball uni-
forms every night because he only had
one with him.
"It was a big party until midnight cook-
ing for them — and everybody eating. It
was fun but crazy," Kleinfeldt said.
In 2008, Kleinfeldt's children were too
young to compete in the Games, but she
offered to host because she heard that
kosher homes were needed.
"It was good for my kids to see we
should open our homes to other people.
Hopefully, people will do it for them one
day:' she said.
Her two boys, who were 6 and 4 at the
time, talked about the three teens for a
year. At the time, Kleinfeldt and her hus-
band, Nossonal, had a 1-year-old daugh-
ter, too. In a few weeks, Kleinfeldt will
host again — and this time one of her
children, Adin, now 12, will participate in
Maccabi on the swim team.
Here are a few tips from Kleinfeldt for
hosting athletes:
• Show them how to use the washing
machine.
• Have food ready in case they're hun-
gry.
• Find out before they arrive what they
can and cannot eat.
If you're inclined, make a welcome bas-
ket for your charges that includes snacks
and bottled water, along with a few
Detroit souvenirs. They may be too shy to
ask (at first) for what they want.

Coney Dogs, Curtain Calls
For the second year, Miles Eichenhorn of
West Bloomfield is doing ArtsFest, a cel-
ebration of performance (and culinary)
arts. Last year, he loved the collegiality
of the week, including his host family in
Orange County, Calif. This year, he can't
wait for this year's ArtsFest — and to play
host to kids who'll stay with his family.
"You get to work as a team and learn
new techniques with people as enthusias-
tic as you. It's really great," he said.
Eichenhorn, 15, who will be a sopho-
more at Bloomfield Hills High School, has
been acting since he was 5. He performs
in school plays, local theater productions
and has had roles as a member of the
Children's Chorus of the Michigan Opera
Theatre.

Motor On on page 10

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August 7 • 2014