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August 20, 2004/Elul 3 5764, Vol. 56, No.48
JCC party expo funds scholarships
SARAH DELANEY
Editorial Intern
Planning a wedding or special event can be stressful as well as joyful, and vendors at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center's second annual Party and Bridal Expo may help make the process a little easier.
About 90 vendors offering everything from event planning to massages will present their services at the expo 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12, at the JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale.
The event is open to the public and admission is free; a photo ID is required for entrance.
Mark Shore, JCC president and CEO, hopes that this event will give people a chance to learn about event opportunities and also make them more at home at the JCC.
"By having this show and other shows and activities, our goal is to bring people to the community 'living room,'" he said. "We need the whole community, Jewish and non-Jewish, to feel comfortable (here)."
The expo was a success last year, with approximately 2,500 attendants and 90 vendors.
Amy Petrovsky, president of Sensational Events, expects this year to be even bigger. "The volume of people and the interest level (have really increased)," she said. "There are 20 vendors already on the wait list begging to get in."
The event is designed to feature everything needed for planning an event. "People can go in and look and see what's in the Valley," said Petrovsky, whose company helped create and manage the Party and Bridal Expo. "I look at the trade show as an opportunity to showcase what Arizona has to offer."
She said that the expo caters to all budgets. "There'll be a couple of varieties of price levels. ...There'll be choices for consumers - not all in the high end or the middle - there'll be a couple of selections in both."
While the event is a great opportunity for consumers, it is also beneficial to the vendors. "They really thrive; it's more personal and they really talk to people. The vendors have fun with it," she said.
Mark Gluckman, owner of Mark Gluckman Photography, hopes to gain more wedding and party business through his booth at the expo. He already takes pictures for many Jewish organizations, but he wants "more clients" for social occasions.
"I figure that if I get at least one job, it will pay for the booth," he joked.
Another beneficiary of the expo is the JCC itself; the event is a fund-raising opportunity for scholarships to various youth programs.
All the money raised goes into scholarship programs and helps underwrite other programs, explained Shore. "It supports our ability to help those in need and plan new programming."
The Party and Bridal Expo really helps people get started with their planning, according to Shore. "It's a fun day at the JCC, and people are able to get the nuts-and-bolts information regarding planning of a super wedding, a really special bar/bat mitzvah" and other great events.
Call Sensational Events, 602-696-4646.
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