Israel celebration a success

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

In the Celebrating Israel @ 60 event schedule, honorary chair Gary Averbach said his two greatest wishes for the Sept. 14 celebration at Stanley Park were "that the sun will shine and that it will shine on thousands of people who appreciate the accomplishments of the young state of Israel." Both of his wishes came true.

Presented by the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, with great community buy-in – hundreds of volunteers and dozens of donors, sponsors and supporters – the day was a great success, and not only because it was sunny and hot.

There were a number of activities from which visitors could choose: performances by local and Israeli talent; a fashion show; Israeli dancing and drumming lessons; food from a selection of kosher and non-kosher outlets (no coffee though!); documentaries about the state of Israel; lectures on Israeli wine and olive oil; special shows, a maze, bouncy castle, extreme slide, rock climbing, balloons, arts and crafts and more for the kids, including gold panning; a diverse range of Israel-related offerings that people could buy at the market place; and information booths for many Jewish organizations. And that's not even a full listing.

People came wanting to have fun – and they did just that. It was a very memorable, and fitting, birthday party for Israel.

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