NOVEMBER 17 • 2022 | 43

W

ith U.S.-Canada COVID-
related border restrictions 
and requirements relaxed, 
the time is ripe to reconnect the Metro 
Detroit and Windsor Jewish young 
adult communities. NEXTGen Detroit 
coordinated a day in Windsor full of 
history, festivities and fun. 
The first stop for the group was 
Jackson Park, where Irene Moore 
Davis shared the history of the Black 

Windsor experience. She focused on the 
Emancipation Day celebration held in 
Jackson Park going back to the 1930s. 
These celebrations attracted renowned 
civil rights leaders like Martin Luther 
King Jr. and music icons like Stevie 
Wonder and the Supremes.
Following lunch and mingling at the 
Windsor JCC, the tour continued to 
the Hiram Walker & Sons Distillery. 
The group toured the distillery campus 

and learned about distilling history 
and process. And what tour would be 
complete without a curated whisky 
tasting?
The final stop of the day took 
the group to Congregation Shaar 
Hashomayim, an Orthodox 
congregation built in the late 1920s 
and nearing its centennial. The group 
learned the history of the Windsor 
Jewish community and explored the 
physical and spiritual space of the 
synagogue. 
“What Up Windsor,” as the event 
was called, was a huge success with 
new friendships formed and new 
experiences enjoyed in our Canadian 
sister city. 

Fun in Windsor

NEXTGen Detroit enjoys a day across the river.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY YEVGENIYA GAZMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Arnie Blaine leads the 
tour of Congregation 
Shaar Hashomayim.

Joelle Abramowitz and David 
Lowenstein at the Windsor JCC

Jake Fishkind, Dan Brotman and 
Ivan Meisner at the Windsor JCC

Members of the 
group listen to 
the history of 
Jackson Park.
Members of the group pose for a photo at the JP Wiser 
Experience Center at the Hiram Walker & Sons Distillery.

