Kol Israel Foundation’s annual fundraising dinner at 5 p.m. Nov. 1 will be a trip down memory lane.
This year’s theme, “Honoring Your Legacy: An Evening Inspired by our Founders,” has motivated event planners to look to the past and host a sit-down dinner followed by dancing to the music of Cleveland’s Yiddishe Cup Klezmer Band.
“With everything going on in the world now with antisemitism and Holocaust denial, we wanted to bring back memories of when our organization started in the late ‘60s,” said Hallie Duchon, in her 11th year as executive director of Kol Israel Foundation. “It was Holocaust survivors who had immigrated to Cleveland who started Kol Israel, so we thought about a get-together for descendants of survivors to stand together for support, and have an evening reminiscent of that.”
The theme of the annual fundraising dinner changes each year, she said.
“Last year, it was about raising awareness of the Holocaust, but this year, we’re doing a different vibe – the Klezmer band, sit-down dinner – instead of something more casual,” she said.
Not only will this year’s dinner attire be different – 1960s cocktail attire is requested – but the dinner menu and vintage decor will ...