|
|
June 13, 2003
007 theme bonds JCC partiers
Fun-filled anniversary includes an hilarious tribute and an auction.
JANNETTE EDMONDS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
It was an evening styled after James Bond, and so successfully
staged that even the secret agent himself would have felt right
at home. Fancy colored martinis, black jack tables, gorgeously attired
women – it might have been Monte Carlo, except it was really
the Pan Pacific Hotel where almost 500 people gathered to celebrate
the 75th anniversary of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver
(JCC).
"We really wanted to make it just a big party," said JCC
executive director Gerry Zipursky. And it was indeed an evening
high in fun and entertainment and low on formalities and speeches.
Master of ceremonies and immediate past president Michael Geller
promised the crowd a good time and after greetings from JCC president
Zev Shafran and thanks to all the volunteers who made the evening
possible, the fun began.
A troupe of nine dancers from the JCC's Dena Wosk School of Performing
Arts got the 007 theme going with a dance featuring a pint-sized
James Bond and a bevy of Bond babes aiming their bogus guns and
cinematic moves at an appreciative audience.
The video tribute to the JCC was about 10 minutes of pure hilarity
as producers Shirley Barnett and Eli Gorn spliced clips of Bond
films into a number of interviews and reminiscences by community
members and leaders. It was a magic mixture of nostalgia, with scenes
of the old community centre in 1928 at Oak and 11th and the current
one in its various stages of development from 1962 to the present.
Adding to the fast pace was the auctioning skills of Maynards' own
Hugh Bulmer, who auctioned off a holiday in San Francisco, one in
Costa Rica, a Caribbean Cruise, a diamond pendant, a lease on a
Mercedes convertible and a GM Place penthouse suite rental. The
list of items for the silent auction was large enough to warrant
its own catalogue with more than 400 items with an estimated total
value of $175,000. Items were organized under headings of variations
on different Bond film titles. And the spy was everywhere. Anyone
wanting a martini "shaken, not stirred" as per the requirements
of Mr. Bond could check out a list of 10 different recipes in the
slick program guide for the evening.
The event itself was billed as an evening "Licensed to Thrill"
and, with all the activities at the black jack tables, around the
buffet tables and on the dance floor, it appeared to be a success.
It was a celebration of not only the community centre but the community
that grew with it. As Esther Dayson said in the video, "the
community centre was the heart of the community." All proceeds
from the evening will go towards programs at the JCC.
Jannette Edmonds is a freelance writer living in Vancouver.
^TOP
|
|
