TribeFest ‘second lines’ into second day
By MARISA KAHN and ALAN SMASON
In a city defined by its groundbreaking musical heritage, it should probably surprise no one at TribeFest, that music would circumscribe and inform attendees during its first full day of activities at the New Orleans Sheraton Hotel,
TribeFest attendees enjoyed a New Orleans "second line" to the Steamboat Natchez on Sunday night. (Photo by Alan Smason)
TribeFest, which is billed as the largest annual gathering of young Jewish professionals in North America, is sponsored by the Jewish Federations of North America, the umbrella organization that governs 153 local Jewish federations and 300 other Jewish community organizations. The 2014 event is being hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans.
The meeting kicked off Sunday afternoon in earnest following morning worship services for the Purim holiday and leadership training for several participating attendees. Attendees from across the United States were joined by those from Canada and as far away as Israel. They all filled the Big Show located in the Grand Ballroom with conviction, chanting on queue from where they hailed.
The local group “The Roots of Music” got the crowd of 1300 into a festive mood with traditional New Orleans street band music.
Then, the music that unifies nations ensued. First, everyone sang in unison the “Star Spangled Banner” for attendees from the U.S. Next came “Oh, Canada,” the national anthem of Canada. Finally, the singing of “Hatikvah,” led by Metairie’s Gates of Prayer cantorial soloist Victoria May Cohen May brought Israelis and all supporters of the Jewish State singing in unison.
With blaring music in the backround, event organizers thanked local Tribefest co-chairs Hallie Timm and Sam Cohen as well as JNOLA chairs Austin Marks and Ashley Merlin for their hard work to make TribeFest in New Orleans happen.
Academy Award nominated screenwriter David Weiss got attendees into a good mood talking about many of his successful films and TV productions, which include “The Smurfs,” “The Smurfs 2,” “Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius,” “All Dogs Go to Heaven” and “The Rugrats” movies and series.
Weiss said he always puts something to show his Jewish pride in all of his films. The Pickles family of “The Rugrats” were Jewish, for example. In the case of “The Smurfs,” he stated there were 612 other “shades of blue.” Weiss applauded the connected TribeFest attendees and explained a motto to which he adheres. “We are all here for a reason,” Weiss said.”Take one step every day, because tomorrow you can start over”
David Kline of Austin and Emma Samuels of Boston both gave different inspirational speeches before TV, film and stage actor Josh Malina spoke.
Stage, film and TV actor Josh Malina addresses the TribeFest opening session. (Photo by Marisa Kahn)
Malina, who broke into Broadway in Aaron Sorkin’s “A Few Good Men,” has scored in several Sorkin TV and film productions. He co-starred in NBC’s “The West Wing” and was featured in the critically acclaimed “Sports Night.” More recently, he played a role on USA Network’s “In Plain Sight.”
Tamara Kluger Jacobson, the head of the Louisiana Human Rights Commission, and Ruth Kullman, a local strategic planner who advises many national organizations spoke on behalf of the local state and New Orleans community, extending welcomes to all of the many out-of-towners.
Next came the first of several breakout sessions in various smaller rooms with a range of different speakers representing six different tracks: Justice and Inclusion, Faith and Culture, Global Jewish Life, Innovation, Hot Topics and Leadership Development Institute. In some cases more than one topic on the same track could be seen. Both “A Wandering Jew’s ‘Global Jewish Comedy Show’ with comedian Noah Gardenswartz and “Strategic Crossroads: An interactive Defense Department Strategy Simulation,” examined Global Jewish Life, but one used a more lighthearted, while the latter had a more serious approach to the topic.
Music and partying marked the evening hours as TribeFest prepared for a true New Orleans “second line” celebration from the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel along Canal Street and onto Decatur Street.
The Soul Rebels kept things moving at the Steamboat Natchez landing till midnight. (Photo by Alan Smason)
Escorted by New Orleans Police Department motorcycles and a squad car, several hundred TribeFest attendees literally partied in the street as the Elysian Brass Band provided traditional New Orleans songs like “Bourbon Street Parade” and “When the Saints Go Marching In” as well as ditties like “Bi Mir Bist Du Schoen” and “Silver Wedding,”the klezmer wedding dance.
The party continued as the boat landing for the steamboat Natchez, where attendees were treated to cocktails and wild music from the Soul Rebels. After a short delay while other passengers disembarked, attendees boarded the boat to find an array of delicious kosher dairy and pareve desserts and coffee.
The Soul Rebels shut down at midnight, but the music in the TribeFest attendees carried them into Monday’s full day of activities.
Pictures from throughout the day may be found in our gallery here (Note there are two {2} pages of photos in the gallery):
