Only day after an EF-3 tornado caused significant damage to the beloved JCC and the surrounding neighborhood Sunday, Oct. 20, the J City Limits committee arrived at the J. It was obvious to the committee that the facility would not be a usable venue for the 13th annual be. Event the following Saturday night. The J planned for a show-stopping evening, modeled after the highly successful music festival, Austin City Limits. With the “show must go on” attitude, the committee and professional team from the J began scouring the city for venues that could host the event on short notice. The options were severely limited when miraculously Congregation Shearith Israel stepped in to save the day. Shearith welcomed the J with open arms. After much coordination, Kaplan Hall was transformed into a music festival and the Oct. 26 event became magical.
The community came together and experienced joy after the storm; they were treated to great music and danced the night away. “The JCC has a special role in the community in times of joy and sorrow. This is one of the reasons this event had to happen. One of the tenets of our mission statement is to bring the community together, and we did just that.” said Artie Allen, CEO of the Aaron Family JCC.
The be. Event, which was chaired by Anita Chanon, Marion Glazer, Lisa Lieberman, Pam Pluss, Lauren Savariego, Jody Stein, Karla Steinberg, Natalie Waldman and Karen Weinreb, is the JCC’s largest fundraiser, and proceeds of the event benefit year-round programming and services. Featured acts included Emerald City’s Party Machine and the tribute bands A Hard Day’s Night and Journey Unauthorized.