On the Town: Speakeasy-themed event doesn’t prohibit funds being raised for local temple
Psst … keep it quiet, but word on the street is that some of Burbank’s most upstanding citizens, including a Burbank city councilman, a parks commissioner and former member of the police commission were caught gambling in a room flowing with cases of alcohol this past Saturday night.
Luckily, being that alcohol has been legal for 86 years, and the wagering was being done solely to raise funds for an important cause, there was no need for the joint to be raided.
The “joint,” more commonly recognized as the community room of Burbank’s Temple Emanu El, was transformed into a Prohibition-era speakeasy, as fringed, feathered and fedora’d ladies and gents gathered for the second annual casino night fundraiser to benefit the temple’s early-childhood center and award-winning preschool.
Conceptualized and chaired by Michael Canaan, the festive evening saw more than 125 supporters of the school that offers year-round, full- and part-time sessions for children 2 to 5 years old, tangle with Lady Luck as they were fortified with cold gin and hot jazz.
Working in concert with Canaan to make last week’s evening of fun and fundraising a success were his committee made up of Tobi and Ira Lippman, Rebecca Chernack, Eric Conner, Cindy Cohen, Oshry Rabinovitch, Shirlee Yehudai and Johanna Moyal.
Among those who enjoyed the evening were Leeron Tal Dvir, who serves as the director of Temple Emanu El’s early-childhood center, and Burbank Councilman Bob Frutos and his wife, Laura.
Other notables in attendance included Sunny Singer, Dave and Pat Augustine, Laura Snow, parks commissioner Barry Gussow and his wife, Karen Volpei-Gussow, and former police commission member Nat Rubinfeld and his wife, Alma.
Established in 1947, Temple Emanu El serves Burbank and the eastern San Fernando Valley as a progressive-minded, egalitarian full-service synagogue, rooted in the tenets and traditions of American conservative Judaism, according to temple officials.
David Laurell may be reached by email at dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563-1007.
