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July 8, 2005
A match struck in New York City
How a Jewish couple from opposite ends of the continent found
each other and came to live together.
CRAIG PRAVDA AND JHENNIA SOLOVYOV
For Vancouver Jewish singles looking for love, there is JDate,
Shabbat dinners and Dr. Michael Events. But what if you've exhausted
all those options and are still looking for your bashert? Vancouverite
Jhennia Solovyov decided to take matters into her own hands and
go hunting for her match in New York City. It took her only a few
days to meet Craig Pravda. Solovyov and Pravda shared their story
with the Bulletin.
Jhennia: Growing up in Vancouver has its pros and cons. One
of the cons has always been a small Jewish community. I reached
a stage in my life where I wanted to meet someone Jewish and build
a family and future. For the past five years, I've been searching
high and low for my Jewish Mr. Right in Vancouver. It's been tough,
because we live in a very small shtetl. My girlfriends and I, if
we put our small numbers together, have probably met and dated,
without exaggeration, every Jewish single man in Vancouver. We were
giving up hope. I was getting bitter and jealous of other Jewish
single women living in Montreal, New York, Toronto and L.A., where,
in my mind, it was heaven-filled with great single Jewish guys!
My girlfriends and I decided to take positive action and live out
a scene from Sex and the City. We decided to check out one of the
biggest shtetls of our Jewish people, New York City.
I'd never been there before. We went for five fabulous days, on
our pilgrimage for Jewish men. Every day we were on a mission, asking
everyone from taxi drivers to deli owners, people on the streets
that looked Jewish, restaurant owners, bar owners ... we only had
one question for them: "Where can we find single Jewish men?"
Our last day in New York, we realized how meshuga we had been. We
had enough of the search. We were tired. We realized it wasn't in
our hands. We stopped searching. That night, I found my gem.
Craig: Oct. 18, 2004, at a charity event held at a New York
City wine cellar, was the first moment I saw Jhennia. Dressed in
a sheer blouse with hand-sewn appliqués framing her petite
athletic body, a glowing smile and sparkling eyes, she exuded a
presence that drew me to her. Dancing together with her companions
on the emptying dance floor, I knew I had to find out more about
this beautiful woman. Over the next few hours, the tracks were being
set for a path I would travel for the rest of my life.
Unknown to my brother Todd – a self-assured list broker from
Colorado – and my friend Chad Love, CEO of a publicly traded
art consulting company and aspiring Jewish rapper from the south
shore of Long Island, with whom I had left an earlier birthday party
to stop by Candela Wine Bar that evening, a great adventure was
about to begin.
The bar was filled with mingling singles, wine was flowing by the
magnum and candelabras suspended from the ceiling above created
a medieval glow as if we were in the grand court of an urban castle.
Although many people had left the event as midnight approached,
we noticed the three women still dancing. After Todd made our introduction,
we escorted our new Vancouver friends to join us back at the earlier
party in midtown. Stopping momentarily to take a photo of the group
before departing, we headed for the car.
As we sped northbound on Third Avenue, swerving through the Saturday
night traffic, Jhennia took my hand. I gently asked the driver to
slow down a bit and assured the nervous ladies that we would be
safe. "Things just move a bit faster here," I explained
to them in my most calm voice.
We arrived shortly after at the private party of Jessica, the science
teacher, my vivacious 25-year-old cousin who had rented the Branch
social club to celebrate with her 150 closest friends. Ironically,
that evening is also the birthday of my departed father. So the
bittersweet emotion in the air seemed to have heightened my spiritual
senses.
We ordered some vodka to relax from the hair-raising ride and then
danced until most of the guests departed. Then we also left the
venue to join a few people across the street at the building where
I maintain a work/live studio.
It was there, in the kitchen, that Jhennia and I first stared silently
into each other's eyes ... and still etched in my mind is that first
moment when our souls connected. At first, I thought it was just
an intoxicating moment enhanced by our alcohol consumption. Later,
I would realize that it was something much deeper and more primitive.
Seeking an opportunity to stand alone with Jhennia, I suggested
we move to the penthouse to see the view of the skyline. As we opened
the door to the roof terrace, a brisk wind crept through the opening.
I put my arm around Jhennia as we looked into the night sky. We
stood silently together as a couple for the first time.
After a few moments, we made a plan to meet in the morning near
the Habitat Hotel, where the women were staying. The next day we
met. After a few hours of strolling on Fifth Avenue, Jhennia accompanied
me to say hello to my good friend, Daryl the builder, and his wife,
Rebecca, the kosher milk girl. Then Kitty, the entertainer from
Prague, who had just returned from her summer in Ibiza, stopped
by. I introduced everyone, but we had to head back uptown. After
a brief stop at the trendy TAO restaurant and a slow, romantic,
passionate kiss on a street corner, we scooped up the others and
met them back at the hotel to pick up their things and catch their
flight home.
The following week, Todd and I made plans to visit Vancouver for
New Year's Eve. On that trip, Todd met his love, Ivy the urban planner,
who has since relocated to NYC to be with him on the upper west
side of Manhattan.
After another two trips back to British Columbia and Jhennia's return
to NYC once again in March of this year, I have decided to join
her and bring my live/work business concept here.
Hopefully those of you who are like us will meet someone as special
as I have on your next pilgrimage – or perhaps just over wine
at the next event.
Jhennia Solovyov and Craig Pravda will soon
be living together in Vancouver.
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