Veterans' Day Observance

Deb held the Israeli flag at the Liberty Memorial event.

KCKCC Ethnic Fair

Art brought tourism materials and dreidels to the Ethnic Fair at Kansas City, KS Community College.

St. Peter's School Cultural Fair

Deb brought tourism materials and a taste of Israel (stuffed dates) as well as sharing some Chelm stories as a performance.

St. Peter's School Cultural Fair

Deb manned the Israel table at this small Kansas City event, and provided entertainment by telling stories about Chelm.  The taste of Israel was dates with almond and honey stuffing.  She also provided tourism materials.

Officer recognition at Renaissance Festival

Sam and Ben Nachum hosted a formal reception for 34 international officers from Ft. Leavenworth at the Renaissance Festival.  Over 300 people were in attendance.

American Royal Parade

Deb rode on the EEC float during the American Royal Parade in Kansas City.

"New Eyes" performance reception

The Israel Spirit committee was asked to provide a Taste of Israel reception for the "New Eyes" performances by Yafit Josephson on 8 & 9 September at the JCC.  We had hummus, pita, olives, dates with almonds & honey, and sambusac.  Each plate was decorated with a little Israeli flag.  The reception was well-received by the attendees, the JCC leadership and Ms. Josephson.  Thanks to Art & Judy Press, Sheila Begley, Nissim Mina, Henry Temchin, Sue-Ellen Flescher and Deb O'Bannon.

Tikvah Dancers at Renaissance Festival

The Tikvah Dancers performed at the Renaissance Festival on September 2, 2012 on the Silk Road.  They had an acoustic accompaniment (see photo).

Festival results

We had wonderful weather for the Ethnic Enrichment Festival (considering the very hot summer we were having), and there were 33,000 attendees.  We were happy to sell out of everything by Sunday afternoon - our coconut macaroons only lasted through Friday night.

Ethnic Enrichment Festival

It's that time again! Swope Park - be there - aloha! We'll be selling homemade hummus and felafel from 17-19 August 2012. Come by early if you want one of our fabulous coconut macaroons.

Phoenix Family Center

Deb and Art did some teaching about Israel to a small group of inner city children at a day camp.  We showed a tourism video from Israel.  Art did Hebrew names and read Where the Wild Things Are (photo).  Deb did camel trivia questions, taught two dances (Zemer Atik and Nodalati l'Shalom) and read Something from Nothing.

Raytown BBQ Festival

The Tikvah Dancers represented Israel at the Raytown BBQ Festival.

KosherFest

Art and Judy took Israeli tourism materials and EEF flyers to the KosherFest at Ohev Shalom.

Memorial Day observance at Liberty Memorial

Mary and Deb held the Israeli flag at the Memorial Day observance at Liberty Memorial.

Sister City event on the Plaza

The Tikvah Dancers performed at the Sister City celebration on the Country Club Plaza.  Ramla, Israel is a Sister City to Kansas City, and Sam Nachum sits on the Sister City committee.

Israel Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big Difference

The clip is an outtake from the new hit documentary Israel Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big Difference for free online streaming at www.IsraelInsideTheMovie.com

Rosehill Elementary Ethnic Fair

Art and Deb hosted the Israel table at the Rosehill Elementary Cultural Fair. Art stamped and signed lots of kids' passports, and we distributed samples of dates/figs/almonds/apricots to the attendees.  Many maps, bookmarks and tourism brochures were picked up, and we even sold a few dreidels!  There's a poster of Israel and photo of the Kotel on the wall behind Art.

Change of EEC Commissioners

Mel Prezant stepped down as the EEC Commissioner for Israel after a long record of valuable activity for the Ethnic Enrichment Commission.  He served as the EEC's Outreach Coordinator for a long time, and recently served as EEC Chairman.  He made many a container of hummus, and drove countless miles to represent Israel to the civic community.

Deb O'Bannon and Art Press will serve as the new Commissioners for Israel on Kansas City's Ethnic Enrichment Commission.

Yom HaAtzmaut - Independence Day

Happy Birthday, Israel!

WYCO Ethnic Festival

We ran a culture/crafts table at the annual KCK Ethnic Fair, where Tikvah performed and we all dodged the evening's threatening weather. The fair was well-attended, and many people went home with maps of Israel.  Our table offering included Sue Ellen's Israeli jewelry and vases, and Dead Sea skin products.

Pesach

Yuval Ron performance

We were asked to help with the Juval Ron performance at the JCC White Theatre as ushers and to help sell the group's CDs. It was an eclectic evening with award-winning musicians.

EEC Diplomatic Ball - "Northern Lights"

Deb, Jeanne and Mary represented Israel at the 2012 Diplomatic Ball.

Northland Ethnic Festival

Erin, Madison and Sue Ellen ran the Israel booth at the annual Northland Ethnic Festival. Tikvah performed as well.

Flower, Lawn and Garden Show

Deb did some greeting and distribution of Festival flyers to the attendees, and was the featured entertainment after the Landscape Award presentations. She read from How to Raise a Jewish Dog, "The Magic Leaf" and two Chelm stories: "Fishing for Pickled Herring" and "Firefighters in Chelm.' The audience laughed at all the right times.

4-H Ethnic Evening

Erin and Madi helped Deb run the Israel booth, where we sold hummus & pita, and brownies & ice cream to the 4-H attendees. We also distributed maps of Israel and general tourism materials. The Tikvah dancers were a big hit, too.

Hag Purim!

Olathe North High School Cultural Fair

Deb brought cultural materials and Sue Ellen brought hamentaschen to share with attendees. Tikvah danced and included lots of students in "Nodalati LaShalom" at Olathe North High School. The event was organized by the freshman honors students.