Ryan Torok
Calendar picks and clicks: March 1–March 11, 2011
Bring your voice and a portable instrument (guitar, keyboard, drums) to bond with others through music — folk songs, Israeli melodies, Yiddish tunes and camp favorites — at this first-ever event organized by the Kol HaEmek Jewish Community Chorale and the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valley. The evening begins with Havdalah and ends with a dessert buffet. Sat. 7-9 p.m. $5 (individuals), $10 (families). Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, 550 S. Second Ave., Arcadia. (626) 445-0810. jewishsgpv.org.
Neither rain nor snow keeps Jewlicious from its appointed sounds
Matisyahu performs every year at Jewlicious, the three-day Jewish learning and music weekend that takes place at the Alpert Jewish Community Center in Long Beach and this year drew some 900 college students and young professionals. A friend to JConnect, which organizes the event with Beach Hillel, the Chassidic reggae star has a habit of drawing his audience into his feverish musical frenzy. He did so again this year, but this time, due to snow, he was stuck in a hotel in Canada, while his guitarist was on stage at the Long Beach JCC. Didn’t matter — he Skyped in his performance.
Jewish fund calls for grant proposals
The Jewish Venture Philanthropy Fund of Los Angeles (JVPF), in collaboration with The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, is currently seeking grant proposals. Any local, national and Israel-based Jewish nonprofit can submit a request for funds.
Calendar picks and clicks: Feb. 22–March 4, 2011
The composer of “A Chorus Line” and the songs “The Way We Were” and “Nobody Does It Better” has won every major entertainment award — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony — as well as a Pulitzer Prize and two Golden Globes. The pops conductor shares the bill with actress-singer Betty Buckley, who won a Tony for her role in “Cats” on Broadway. Sat. 8 p.m. $34.75-$82.75. Valley Performing Arts Center, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. (818) 677-8800.
Calendar picks and clicks: Feb. 16–Feb. 25, 2011
An invisible world is revealed as the Israeli troupe performs the critically acclaimed dance show “Infrared.” Based on a poem “In the Black Garden” by KCDC artistic director Rami Be’er, the show explores the human condition through primary colors in breathtaking beauty. Sat. 8 p.m. $25-$45. The Luckman Fine Arts Complex, 5151 State University Drive, L.A. (323) 343-6600. luckmanarts.org.
$4.6 million + 1,000 = Super Sunday
On Feb. 13, nearly 1,000 volunteers from the Los Angeles community helped raise more than $4.6 million for the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ annual Super Sunday campaign, working both on the traditional phone-a-thon and, for the first time, simultaneously at community service projects across the city.
Suicide inspires giving to help line
The tragedy of 14-year-old Santa Monica High School student Matthew Mezza’s recent suicide has prompted an outpouring of grief and giving in the local community.