'Made in Motor City' Concert Kicks Off Week-Long Music Festival in West Bloomfield

The Michigan Board of Cantors will perform songs created in the Motor City.

The Michigan Board of Cantors kicks off the Stephen Gottlieb Music Festival at the Berman Center for the Performing Arts in West Bloomfield Thursday, with Made in the Motor City, with songs created, written and recorded in the Motor City. The week-long celebration, with performances at the Berman and Jewish Community Center facilities in West Blooomfield and Oak Park, features Broadway and television star Tovah Feldshuh in the radio-style play, “Witches of Lublin,” and popular local band Fifty Amp Fuse in “Rock of Ages: The Jewish Side of Pop Music,” with award-winning music journalist Gary Graff. Additional performances include a patron night event with local singer/songwriter Ethan Daniel Davidson, a family concert with Marc Rossio and …

• Photos (1)

UPDATED: Jewish Community Center Evacuated

No one is hurt as authorities continue to investigate a report of two suspicious packages found near the entrance.

Media reports indicate that two briefcases found in the bushes near the entrance of the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield Tuesday proved to be harmless.  West Bloomfield Police Sgt. Eric Gruenwald told Patch that police received a call at 3:15 Tuesday afternoon about the two suspicious packages. According to WDIV-Channel 4, the packages were found outside in some bushes. Around 4:40 p.m., WXYZ-Channel 7 reported the scene had been cleared.  Gruenwald said there were no threats, but that the building was evacuated as a precautionary measure, particularly in light of the bombing at the Boston Marathon on Monday. Michigan State Police are on the way to the scene and will do a sweep of the building, according to Gruenwald. No one is …

• Photos (2)

Michigan Innocence Clinic's David Moran Speaks in West Bloomfield

This video is just one of the many recently uploaded by West Bloomfield Patch readers.

David Moran, Clinical Professor of Law and founder of the Michigan Innocence Clinic recently visited the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit in West Bloomfield and was captured on video discussing wrongful convictions in Michigan. The guest of IRP's Lunch & Learn on Friday also talked about clinic co-founder Bridget McCormack, who was sworn in as a Michigan Supreme Court justice in January.  The Michigan Innocence Clinic is the first of its kind in the country that exclusively handles non-DNA evidence cases. This is part of an occasional series on West Bloomfield Patch featuring videos taken by and for the community. Have one to share? Upload it directly to the site by clicking on the Pics and Clips gallery in the menu bar …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)

Police Blotter

West Bloomfield Man Arrested After Dust-up in JCC Locker Room

Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

West Bloomfield Township Police Department reports from Feb. 5-11 included 81 alarms, 21 crashes and 19 arrests. Among the highlights: A shouting match between two men at the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center Feb. 7 resulted in one arrest on a charge of misdemeanor assault and battery. Lt. Tim Diamond said that the man reporting the incident, a 74-year-old West Bloomfield resident, was sitting in a locker room lounge chair and put his feet up on an ottoman when the suspect, who had been sitting on the ottoman, took exception. Gary Berger, 75, of West Bloomfield, is reported to have begun verbally abusing the 74-year-old, Diamond said, and eventually spit on him, according to the report. A West Bloomfield police officer who was off-…

• Photos (1)

Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer to Visit West Bloomfield JCC

With hopes of teaching water safety to young children, Lenny Krayzelburg offers a unique opportunity with swim academy.

If you have made a resolution to get your young child in a swimming pool this year, one might say that you're golden. A four-time Olympic gold medal swimmer, Lenny Krayzelburg will introduce his new swim academy in person Jan. 27 at the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center. According to the JCC, the public can see Krayzelburg free, and his appearance will launch a week of free swimming evaluations for young children. Swimming lessons will then start Feb. 3. "(The academy is) based around teaching water safety and doing it the right way with the right skills. From there, we can start to introduce strokes," said Krayzelburg, who began the academy in 2005. "Every child wants to have peace of mind going into the water that they will be safe…

• Photos (1)

Going 'Into No Man's Land' with Holocaust Survivor

Jewish Book Fair at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield and Oak Park runs through Nov. 18.

The 61st annual Jewish Book Fair rolls on this week at the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center, offering a diverse array of art, music, and speakers as a tribute to the written word through Nov. 18. However, none will offer a story quite like that of Irene Miller's, a West Bloomfield resident who fled from her home nation of Poland for the Soviet Union on the brink of the Holocaust in 1939. Miller's first-person, historical take on her journey, titled Into No Man's Land, is the first book she has had published. She is scheduled to speak at the book fair on Sunday, as part of a panel celebrating local authors. A sense of tikkun olam, or a sacred prescription taught in Judaism to repair the world, stayed with Miller throughout her family…

• Photos (1)

Meet Patch Blogger and 'Love Doctor,' Terri Orbuch

West Bloomfield resident who shares relationship advice in her Local Voices blog, discusses her new book about learning from divorce at the Jewish Book Fair on Nov. 13.

The holiday season — including plenty of time saved for family, friends and acquaintances — is generally thought of as a busy time for business. However, for Terri Orbuch, it's just business as usual. Orbuch, a Local Voices blogger on Patch, will speak at the 61st Annual Jewish Book Fair in-between juggling a teaching schedule at Oakland University (OU) with work as a research professor at the University of Michigan Survey Research Center. "This is my second time doing the book fair. I spoke at the fair two years ago and had a great time," said Orbuch, a West Bloomfield resident. "People come with all kinds of challenges and experiences and really, that's the best audience. They're interested and motivated by their relationships." Orbuch …

• Photos (1)

Local Author Jeffrey Zaslow to be Recognized at 61st Annual Book Fair

Jewish Book Fair at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield and Oak Park will be held Nov. 7-18.

The 61st annual Jewish Book Fair kicks off Nov. 7 at the West Bloomfield Jewish Community Center, offering a diverse array of art, music, and speakers as a tribute to the written word. Among the speakers are Jordan Zaslow, daughter of world-renowned author and columnist Jeffrey Zaslow of West Bloomfield. Zaslow passed away Feb. 10 in an auto accident while on a promotional tour in Northern Michigan. Zaslow's family settled in West Bloomfield and as his work grew from gracing the pages of The Wall Street Journal to several New York Times bestselling books, they were involved with local public schools and nonprofit organizations. Zaslow's book The Magic Room: A Story about the Love We Wish for Our Daughters, released earlier this year, has …

• Photos (2)

Cabaret Singer Todd Murray Coming to the Berman

'Croon' tour coming to West Bloomfield Nov. 1.

Crooners such as Burt Bacharach, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, and Leonard Cohen will be remembered at the Berman Center for the Performing Arts Nov. 1 as part of baritone Todd Murray's appropriately-named cabaret show, Croon. "From the 1920s to the present, every decade is hit," said Murray, adding that to "croon" means to hum or sing softly, to sing popular songs in a soft sentimental manner, or to sing intimately with a microphone. A capacity audience of 500 may be expected at the Berman, Murray said, but he's used to the dichotomy after cutting his teeth as a cantor at a New York City synagogue in his young adulthood. Murray is not able to speak Hebrew and the Jewish culture threw his rural Pennsylvania roots for a curve.  "When I went …

• Photos (1)

This Weekend: Planning Expo at the Jewish Community Center

Have a wedding to announce? Throwing a party? Learn the latest industry tricks and tips at the 10th annual Joe Cornell Entertainment event this afternoon and say hi to Patch when you're there!

Patch will have a table  from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Wedding Marketplace at the Joe Cornell Entertainment 10th Annual Event Planning Expo. Whether you want to put a wedding announcement up on a Patch site or just stop by an say hi, we'd love to see you. Move over, Jordan almonds. Brides and grooms want to give their guests a memorable gift that will last beyond the day after the big day. Photo booths have become a popular feature at wedding receptions. In addition to taking pictures, the booth can also take care of the favors.  With a package from Infinity Photobooth of Clawson, guests pose for pictures in groups of up to 12 people.  Each person then gets a photo strip with a custom-designed logo commemorating the wedding.  In …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)