Event Proposal-- Please Give Feedback

[Alexis Gewertz]

Hi all,

 

I hope most of you can make it to our next meeting at 7 pm on Wednesday April 22^nd. Please be sure to RSVP to agew...@jccgb.org as soon as possible.

 

Attached please find our current proposal for the event. Since our last meeting, we have met with our two co-chairs (Josh Shnider and Nooam Blum) as well as the young adult staff members here at CJP. With the committee’s suggestions in mind, we tried to narrow down our focus. We hope you will see your thoughts reflected in the proposal. Please note the proposed dates for the event is June 17^th (Wed) or June 18^th (Thurs).

 

Please read over the proposal and reply with your thoughts and comments before Pesach (so by Wednesday 4/9).

 

Thanks so much and we look forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

--Alexis

 

 

 

Alexis Gewertz

Event Coordinator, GesherCity Boston

126 High Street

Boston, MA 02110

(617) 457-8666

agew...@jccgb.org

www.geshercity.org

 

[Shoshana Fagen]

It looks like you guys did a really good job coming up with some great ideas. if we could pull off the multiple rooms, that would be awesome.  otherwise, I think the best way to pull a crowd is a big name israeli musical act. 
my concern about the dress code is it feels very antithetical to israeli culture.  People show up to everything in israel in jeans.  If we suggested a dress code, then we will still have plenty of people showing up in casual attire.  I think the way to fancy it up will to be by choosing location, food options, our use of language, how the invite goes out, etc... that will help people understand what we are going for. 
-Shani

[Eva Heinstein]

Hi all,

 

I am looking forward to meeting you all at the next planning meeting. You have come up with some really great ideas!  I hope you excuse the free-association email, but here are some initial thoughts:

 

I really like the idea of a festival format.  I understand that it would take a lot more logistical planning, but if you have interesting and diverse stations, the event will have something for everyone.

 

A few ideas for rooms/stations:

 

• I love the wine tasting idea:  The Israeli boutique wine industry is so robust and relatively unknown in American markets.  Maybe we could work with Israeli Wine Direct to set up some sort of tasting.
• Poetry Reading: There are a few Hebrew literature departments in the area; maybe we could have students/professors read Hebrew poetry in translation?  Maybe some students would even want to read poetry of their own?
• Film screening:  In the past decade, the Israeli film industry has really come into its own. The challenge would be finding something short enough that you could show several times throughout the night.  I have a meeting with the cultural affairs director at the Consulate in two weeks—I can see if he has any suggestions.  The HBO show In Treatment is a direct translation of an Israeli series called B’Tipul.  Maybe we could play a few episodes of that program (it is incredible, and a nice window into the day-to-day challenges that Israelis face).
• Music:  Tomer Yosef is with Jdub in New York, you can listen to a clip here.  He has performed with Balkan Beat Box in the past, and is a terrific musician.  Yael Naim is performing at Berklee on 6/21.  It might be hard with her contract to tack on another performance—but she is incredible.  She really would be more of a main-event feature. Galeet Dardashti of Divahn is really talented.  She is based in NYC, but this year she is a six point fellow, so she might be interested in showcasing her project in other cities for a nominal fee. Those are just a few initial ideas, once I get a better sense of the genre the committee is interested in, I could make more suggestions.
• Photography:  What if we put a call out for photographs taken in Israel by local amateur photographers, and then “curate” a small exhibit with the best entries.  It could be pretty simple, maybe only 10-12 photographs. It might be nice to showcase some local artists/hobbyists—sort of the idea of “Israel through the eyes of…”
• Literature: Maybe we could work with Harvard Book Store to sell books by Israeli authors in translation (this could possibly be in tandem with the poetry reading).
• Dance: Maybe we could have video footage of contemporary Israeli dance showing in one of the rooms—there are so many wonderful choreographers and dancers in Israel. If this is an idea that appeals to you all, I could ask the cultural affairs department at the consulate to help us with this.

 

I am pretty new to the Boston area, but I do have a few suggestions for possible venues:

 

• SoWA
• Arts at the Arsenal in Somerville (I have never been there, but I hear it is a really interesting space)
• MFA
• Are there any Universities that have open art/loft space?  I went to NYU, and the school of Art and Design had a mutli-room loft space where they held events like this.

 

 

I think $10 is very fair.  You could probably get away with charging a bit more and advertise that %X of all revenue goes to Y cause.  An organization in Israel that I think is doing really great work is Mavoi Satum, they give legal advice and advocate for women who are denied divorce.

 

I agree with Shoshana about the dress code.  I think that you can “set the tone” by location, event description, etc… without actually stating that there is a dress code.  That leaves it open, and no one feels turned off or under dressed if they choose to go more casual.

 

See you on the 22^nd!

 

--Eva

 

 

Eva Heinstein

Program Coordinator

New Center for Arts and Culture

18 Tremont St. Suite 308

Boston, MA 02108

617-531-4622

 

---

[Faina]

I like the idea of the multiple rooms. I think it will draw a bigger
crowd. It will be harder to organize but I think we will get a bigger
crowed that will be pleased from the event.
The problem with one big event is that not everyone likes the same
thing. How are we going to keep everyone happy with one performance or
one speaker?
About the dress code – I don’t know. Personally I like to dress up but
I agree with Shoshana that in Israel people show up to any event in
jeans.
About the cost – $10 is good. We can donate it or use it to create
another event.

Faina Makler

On Apr 3, 3:55 pm, "Alexis Gewertz" <AGewe...@jccgb.org> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I hope most of you can make it to our next meeting at 7 pm on Wednesday

> April 22nd. Please be sure to RSVP to agewe...@jccgb.org as soon as

> possible.
>
> Attached please find our current proposal for the event. Since our last
> meeting, we have met with our two co-chairs (Josh Shnider and Nooam
> Blum) as well as the young adult staff members here at CJP. With the
> committee's suggestions in mind, we tried to narrow down our focus. We
> hope you will see your thoughts reflected in the proposal. Please note
> the proposed dates for the event is June 17th (Wed) or June 18th
> (Thurs).
>
> Please read over the proposal and reply with your thoughts and comments
> before Pesach (so by Wednesday 4/9).
>
> Thanks so much and we look forward to hearing your thoughts!
>
> --Alexis
>
> Alexis Gewertz
>
> Event Coordinator, GesherCity Boston
>
> 126 High Street
>
> Boston, MA 02110
>
> (617) 457-8666
>

> agewe...@jccgb.org
>
> www.geshercity.org
>
>  Israel event proposal.doc
> 49KViewDownload

[Becca Cyr]

Hi All,

 

I actually don't know if I like the idea of multiple rooms.  I think that if you were to have sections of one big room, it may be easier to engage all in the event - from my experience, if you have separate rooms it is easier to lose people and not have them as engaged in the overall event and its mission.  Whereas, if you section off one large room, everything is right there for them to experience and its easier for everyone to interact with one another.

 

In college I helped to plan an event we called "Israeli Culture NIght."  At the event we showcased information about Israel (birthright info included) we had a buffet of Israeli foods, we had a table with various pieces describing holidays, and in the middle we had Israeli dancing.  I wanted to bring up that example because I think it works really well to appeal to a large group - not everyone wanted to dance or look at pictures of Israel, etc but it was all in different sections of one room so everyone could participate as they wanted while being in the same space. 

I love the idea of having people submit their Israel pictures.  Great way to showcase others experiences!  I would also highly reccommend Israeli dancing/or some sort of live Israeli music... maybe both!

 

As for the dress code, I agree that it should be relatively open.  I think we'll see an even mix of business attire and casual attire.  And I think that $10 is fien to charge - maybe even more if needed.

 

Take Care!

Becca