Around Atlanta
The Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA) to Host the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games in Atlanta for an Olympic Style Event
Atlanta is the Host City for the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games® July 28 – August 2, 2019! The Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA) is thrilled that the JCC Maccabi Games will call Atlanta home for just the second time in the history of the competition, with more than 1,600 participants, ranging from 12 to 16 years old, to compete in a field of 14 sports. To learn more, visit atlmaccabi2019.org.
“Atlanta is the place to be when it comes to marquee sporting events sure to cement lifelong memories – including the 2018 Major League Soccer All-Star Game, the 2019 Super Bowl, and the 2020 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four,” says MJCCA CEO Jared Powers. “Adding to that list of sporting spectacles, in July, the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games® will return to Atlanta for the first time since 2001.”
What are the JCC Maccabi Games?
The JCC Maccabi Games are an Olympic-style sporting competition that brings teen-athletes from around the globe to compete in sporting competitions, perform community service, and above all have an amazing time meeting new people, and forming bonds that will last a lifetime.
Started in 1982, The JCC Maccabi Games have grown exponentially over the years, and this year is no different. Team Atlanta is now one of largest ever delegations in Maccabi history. Over 1,000 visiting athletes from over 35 visiting delegations will be joining the almost 600 Team Atlanta athletes to compete in a week of tournaments. Every athlete, coach, and delegation head in attendance is proud to have earned the privilege of representing their community at The Games.
Hosted by the MJCCA, the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games will include a full range of events, including Olympic-style opening ceremonies and a community service day. These events each aim to bring the Atlanta Jewish community together for a week of spirit, friendship, and celebration.
“This summer, the JCC Maccabi Games® will require the helping hands of nearly 1,500 volunteers,” explains MJCCA Maccabi Games Director Stacie Francombe. “Whether you have a few hours or a few days to help, there are opportunities that match your interests – everything from arrivals and departures to athletics and hydration, from medical and hospitality to food service, and so much more. We hope you’ll join us by becoming a part of this exciting community event. Can’t make it to the MJCCA? We are utilizing venues all over Atlanta and need volunteers at every location.”
Interested in volunteering? All volunteers must be 18-years-old or older as of July 28, 2019 for daytime shifts and 21-years-old or older to volunteer for evening events.
Go to www.atlmaccabi2019.org/signup/ to register as a volunteer.
Ways to Get Involved in atlmaccabi2019.org:
Opening Ceremonies of the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games will take place on July 28, 2019 at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre (2200 Encore Pkwy, Alpharetta), and will include entertainment, a parade of athletes, a Munich 11 memorial tribute and more. Come cheer on Team Atlanta and the 35 visiting delegations for a night of fun and entertainment.
Time: Athlete drop off 5:45 pm / Doors open at 6:00 pm / Parade of Athletes starts at 7:00 pm.
- Opening Ceremonies Highlights:
- Angelica Hale, America’s Got Talent 2017 finalist and recording artist;
- Adam Rippon, 2017 Olympic bronze medalist in ice skating; LGBTQ activist; Judge on Dancing with the Stars Junior;
- Joe Castillo, Sand Artist, Seen on America’s Got Talent 2012;
- Atlanta Drumline Academy, local drum core team with choreographed show, Seen on Steve Harvey’s Little Big Shots.
- Opening Ceremonies Tickets: Reserve HERE and pickup at the MJCCA’s Maccabi Central or at Ameris Bank will call on July 28.
“We invite the community to come out to Opening Ceremonies and be a part of one of the largest gatherings in the history of Jewish Atlanta,” said MJCCA Maccabi Games co-chair Amy Rubin.
JCC Cares (Community Service Projects)
Since 1982, the JCC Maccabi Games have always been more than an athletic competition. An important component of the Games, JCC Cares, provides an opportunity for teens to embrace their experiences at the Games by taking time out of their competition schedule to participate in a community service project.
The basic American concept of community service is closely tied to the basic Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, which urges us to make a difference in the lives of others who may be less fortunate than ourselves. All athletes, coaches, and chaperones will participate in JCC Cares as part of their Maccabi experience. Also, to make an even greater impact and connection, each participant has asked to bring supplies or goods that would benefit the local community.
The 2019 Atlanta JCC Cares initiative will include three components:
- Disabled Athlete Exhibition – During the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games in Atlanta, the MJCCA will partner with theIsrael Sports Center for the Disabled (ISCD), one of the world pioneers in the field of sport rehabilitation; as well as the Shepherd Center, a local nonprofit hospital devoted to the medical treatment, research, and rehabilitation for people with neuromuscular problems such as spinal cord injury and disease, acquired brain injury, and multiple sclerosis. These two organizations will provide a disabled athlete exhibition for the Maccabi teen athletes. The goal of this initiative is for Maccabi athletes to see all people for their abilities and not just their disabilities.
- From Art Project to Art Therapy – The Maccabi athletes will also participate in an art project lead by two local professional artists and learn how art therapy is used to help rehabilitate people with physical injuries. The athletes will walk on bubble wrap covered in paint, which will splatter the paint onto two canvases. The professional artists will then transform the canvas into two art pieces, which will be revealed at the closing party and permanently displayed at the ISCD and Shepherd Center.
- Community Service – In order to reinforce the Jewish value of giving charity (Tzedakah), the Maccabi athletes have been asked to contribute an item requested by the Shepherd Center and placed on an Amazon registry. Whether it’s shirts or hats, a movie DVD, or rehabilitation supplies, these items will be used to directly benefit patients staying at the Shepherd Center. Throughout the Games, the Maccabi athletes will help package these items, which will be delivered to the Shepherd Center after the Games conclude.
You don’t have to be an athlete to be a part of Maccabi. Star Reporters will document the Games in real-time through photography, videography, interview, blogging, and other modes of social media. This team is also being coached by VOX ATL. As Star Reporters develop new skills through hands-on reporting and exposure to state-of-the-art technologies and tools, they also will receive mentoring in photography, videography, the art of the interview, and more. Star Reporter coaches, provided by Team Atlanta, will be experienced professionals in the fields of journalism, photography, videography, social media, and marketing.
Gaming and eSports
The 2019 Atlanta Maccabi Games will be the first JCC Maccabi Games to offer gaming and eSports for our athletes. Gaming is a growing part of youth culture, with many state high schools, division 1 colleges and professional sports leagues offering Varsity Letters, Scholarships, and professional careers in eSports. We will be having open play and structured tournaments during the games. We are excited to partner with Lost Tribe, an pioneer in eSports for Jewish Youth Engagement to offer this new experience for our 2019 Participants.
The 2019 Atlanta Maccabi Games will be an inclusive program. The games intend to welcome athletes with developmental, physical and/or neurological differences who may require support, to participate in various Maccabi programs. Accommodations and funded support will be determined on an individual basis.
During the week of The Games, athletes will be fully immersed into the Atlanta Jewish Community. We will be utilizing the kindness of over 500 host families to house all our visitors. These hosts are surrogate parents to these athletes for a week. They will feed and take care of every visiting athlete that will come to Atlanta. It is through the generosity of our community that we can host all these athletes, and make sure they are comfortable and cared for. Each host family will be asked to host at least 2 athletes. The requirements are simple, for each athlete you host, they must have a bed or air mattress to sleep on and a seatbelt in the car. All Host Families must be 21-years-old or older to volunteer. If you would like to become a host family, you must REGISTER.
“What I am most looking forward to is introducing the Jewish teens in our community to the international Maccabi Movement, which presents athletic, cultural, and social opportunities with Jews from around the world,” said MJCCA Maccabi Games co-chair Libby Hertz.
“There truly is a way for everyone to share in the excitement and get involved in the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games®,” said Francombe. “Opportunities are now available for every member of the community – from athletes and coaches, to volunteers, sponsors, and host families.”
Contact Info:
2019 JCC Maccabi Games® (July 28 – August 2, 2019) – atlmaccabi2019.org.
Local artist and Peachtree Corners resident, Amy Rader, will be part of the first-ever Atlanta Art Fair, being held at Pullman Yards October 3–6. The fair will feature local galleries, artists and curators alongside a variety of national programs and a dynamic series of public art projects and events presented at locations around town.
Aimed at amplifying local voices and acting as a platform for the city’s incredible creativity, the Atlanta Art Fair — the first major art fair of its kind in the city — will showcase a wide range of artistic styles and genres, including contemporary work, paintings, photography, live performances and innovative projects.
Represented by the esteemed Fay Gold Gallery, Rader will have several pieces on show at the Fay Gold Booth E07, something the artist is thrilled about, as her connection to Gold spans three decades.
“In 1993, while still in high school, I attended a summer arts program at Lagrange College,” Rader recalled. “We took a field trip to visit the top gallery in Atlanta — the Fay Gold Gallery. I stood in awe of the marvelous pieces on display … [Later] after years working with ad agencies for Fortune 500 clients, I was ready to leave my career in graphic design to pursue art full time. Showing my work at a gallery in Buckhead introduced me to Fay Gold 29 years after that visit in 1993. It was a full circle moment.”
A local legend
An Atlanta art legend, Fay Gold is best known for her groundbreaking exhibitions of artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, Keith Haring, Andres Serrano and Robert Mapplethorpe.
She curated the formative years of Elton John’s personal art collection and raised $750,000 for the Elton John Aids Foundation by creating and chairing two art auctions for the organization. Over the years, she’s also worked with corporate clients and has received dozens of awards for her many contributions to the Atlanta art scene.
Fay Gold represented Rader’s work in a successful art show in 2022 followed by an art auction in 2023 and now at the Atlanta Art Fair in 2024.
A lifelong love of art
In love with art from an early age, Rader was encouraged by a high school teacher to apply to art school, which she did, receiving a scholarship from the Art Institute of Atlanta and graduating from the (now-closed) art school with the Best Portfolio Award. For the past 25+ years Rader has worked within the design and art fields, building an impressive body of work, with a particular focus on creating traditional art and large-scale pieces for hospitality spaces.
Her work can be seen in galleries, private collections, luxury buildings, restaurants and more, including the Buckhead Art & Company Gallery, The Hue Midtown and Chops restaurant in Buckhead.
According to her website, Rader’s notable accomplishments include “being selected to represented Tesla and Microsoft at Art Basel, commissioned work for a new Lake Nona project with Tavistock, creating custom pieces for two $140 million luxury Related Group buildings and commissioned work for Norwegian Cruise Line’s new Prima ships.”
Rader is especially excited about the Atlanta Art Fair — not just being part of it, but the fact that it’s happening at all.
“This is such a big deal for the arts community,” said Rader. “The Art Fair is a wonderful addition to Atlanta’s cultural offerings. I’m describing it as our very own ‘Art Basel’ level fair, with both national and international galleries. We are used to art festivals, but this is a different caliber of event by the producers behind the San Francisco Art Fair, Seattle Art Fair and Art on Paper New York.”
The details
The Atlanta Art Fair takes place at Pullman Yards and other venues throughout the city, October 3–6. Schedules, artist lists, tickets and additional information can be found online at theatlantaartfair.com.
For more about Amy Rader, visit raderdesigns.net.
To learn more about Fay Gold and the Fay Gold Gallery, visit faygoldgallery.com.
Around Atlanta
Brennan Lee Mulligan, DrLupo, Biqtch Puddin’ and More Headline Action-Packed DreamHack Atlanta Lineup
Three-day gaming lifestyle festival brings best of gaming, tabletop roleplaying, indies, music, esports and cosplay to the Big Peach
DreamHack (ESL FACEIT Group’s international gaming lifestyle festival) has announced exciting new guests and programming taking place at this year’s DreamHack Atlanta, October 4–6 at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Brennan Lee Mulligan returns to DreamHack alongside the festival’s largest-ever Dungeons & Dragons area. World-class creators, including DrLupo, and the Atlanta debut of the Drag & Drop cosplay drag show hosted by local performer Biqtch Puddin’ are also on the schedule.
“DreamHack features the best of gaming culture from all over the world right here in Atlanta,” said Guy Blomberg, director of festivals, North America, DreamHack. “We’re bringing the best global talent and highlighting local developers, streamers, performers and storytellers to create a celebration of everything to do with gaming.”
Over 20 of the biggest names from Dimension 20, Critical Roll, Lynvannder and more expand DreamHack’s roleplaying offerings
Following his DreamHack debut this summer, Dropout’s resident Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan returns to DreamHack with an all-star cast of adventurers. Joined by Zac Oyama, Erika Ishii, Anjali BhimaniandAliza Pearl, the party will explore an all-new one-shot adventure designed specifically for DreamHack Atlanta.
Fans can also step into the Tabletop Tavern, a dedicated stage for live roleplaying game content presented in partnership with Lynnvander. Veteran storytellers, writers and actors will join forces for a slew of custom adventures. Special guests include worldbuilder and dungeon master Jasmine Bhullar, writer and actress Rekha Shankar, game designer and writer Keith Baker, voice actress Mela Lee and many more.
The LEGO Group makes DreamHack Atlanta debut with all-new Builders Zone
DreamHack guests can expand on the games they know and love through the unlimited creative opportunities of LEGO®️ bricks at DreamHack Atlanta’s all-new Builders Zone, sponsored by the LEGO Group. Attendees can participate in gaming-themed make-and-take builds, contribute to the LEGO brick-built mystery mural on-site or even participate in DreamHack Quests for a chance to take home new LEGO sets. DreamHack will also invite creators to the Main Stage for a competition to celebrate gamers’ creative LEGO builds at the festival — with special guests to be announced.
DreamHack Atlanta hosts largest-ever Indie Playground and Artist Alley
DreamHack’s Indie Playground and Artist Alley will have their largest footprints yet, with 60 game developers as well as 60 more independent artists — almost half of which are Atlanta locals. In addition to exploring booths, guests can participate in the Artist Alley Stamp Rally, trade unique pins at the pin swap board, trick-or-treat with vendors and get hands-on with up-and-coming video games. Both the Artist Alley and Indie Playground are open to all guests daily from 12 to 6 p.m.
Drag & Drop cosplay drag show returns with Atlanta debut
Drag & Drop, the festival’s flagship cosplay drag show, will return after its debut at DreamHack Dallas. Hosted by Emmy-nominated artist Biqtch Puddin’, the show will feature a host of new nerdy performances and performers who slay video game bosses, and looks. Participating artists include Brigitte Bidet, LaZanya Ontré, Dotte Com and more.
Drag & Drop complements a full weekend of cosplay programming for attendees. The festival’s cosplay competition on Saturday, will be judged by an all-star cast of professional cosplayers, including Atlanta-native Pumpkin.Pixie.Princess and host Jahara Jayde.
DreamHack Atlanta sets record with over 500 creator guests, including Jake Lucky, bbjess and more
This year’s DreamHack Atlanta will host the largest creator cohort ever for a DreamHack Atlanta festival, with over 500 local and national influencers onsite. After receiving a record-setting number of applications, DreamHack Atlanta’s host of content creators will participate in Main Stage competitions, host meet & greets with fans and stream live from DreamHack’s Creator Hub. Top guests include Main Stage emcee bbjess, creator interview experts Jake Lucky and HUN2R, veteran streamers DrLupo (hosted in partnership with Anthros) and Amouranth and more.
Georgia FIRST Robotics brings local high schoolers to DreamHack for STEM showcase
Georgia high school students from across the state will take part in Georgia FIRST Robotics’ interactive showcase live at DreamHack Atlanta. The program requires students and their peers to collaborate on creating their own industrial-size robots to go head-to-head in challenging field games. Students are behind it all — from raising funds to designing their teams’ brand to building and piloting their robots — and the festival’s showcase will highlight the work that goes into making these high-tech machinations.
All of this is just one slice of what DreamHack Atlanta 2024 has to offer.
The details
DreamHack Atlanta takes place at the Georgia World Congress Center on October 4–6
For more information on competitions at DreamHack Atlanta — including world-class esports tournaments, grassroots competition in the Freeplay area, cosplay contests and more —click here.
Tickets are still available and start at $45 for a single day or $109 for three-day access.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit dreamhack.com/atlanta/tickets/.
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