Despite these unusual times, K.I. Synagogue’s 44th Grand Givers, held on Sunday, Oct. 18, was a great success. Co-chairs Drs. Shari and Michael Sokol donned their creative hats and designed a “Grand Givers Like Never Before.” Grand Givers is Kehilath Israel’s largest fun and fund raiser of the year with entertainment, food and prizes.
This year, using a drive-in movie-style platform, Neil Berg and Friends performed musical hits live from a studio in New York, and the show was broadcast onto two big screens in the K.I. parking lot. Attendees chose to either come to the K.I. parking lot and watch from their cars, or they could watch the show from home. K.I.’s Rabbi Moshe Grussgott was the local emcee.
Ellenberg Experience Catering provided delicious, individually wrapped BBQ dinners, which could either be picked up to take home or enjoyed at K.I. by those viewing the show from their cars. Ticket holders also received gift bags, raffle prizes were awarded and a socially-distanced auction took place.
Accompanied by three Broadway performers, the Neil Berg concert included a wide variety of songs from shows such as “Hamilton,” “Les Miserables,” “Jekyll & Hyde,” “Cabaret,” “The Sound of Music,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Camelot,” “Tommy” and “Evita.” They also performed songs by Elton John, Billy Joel, Leonard Cohen, Queen and Journey. The show truly had something for everyone.
Kehilath Israel hopes that next year’s Grand Givers event will be one in which there are more opportunities for people to be able to socialize and interact, but feedback for this creatively put together, out of the box event received rave reviews. As one person told the synagogue, “We bought tickets as a gift for another couple, but after hearing how much they enjoyed the evening, next year we’re going to buy tickets for ourselves, too.”
