On a sunny Sunday, July 28, the Young Israel of New Rochelle’s Women’s League hosted its annual barbecue. Women’s League leaders explained that this barbecue is not your run-of-the-mill gathering. “It’s way better. The goal of the event is to meet people in the community in a casual setting.”
Participants register for the event as either hosts or guests. The YINR Women’s League provides entrée meats to be grilled by the hosts, and the guests bring side dishes. The host homes have the same basic menu of chicken, London broil and hot dogs; the guests coordinate the rest of the menu. After dinner, everyone comes together at a central location for a large dessert reception, featuring items baked by members of the community. One dessert participant noted, “This is a great opportunity to taste most of the same items that are usually for sale at the annual YINR Mikvah Bake Sale.” Utilizing nine homes for dinner and one home for dessert, nearly 100 YINR members participated in this year’s event.
During the dessert section, event committee member Sarra Lorbert thanked everyone for making the event such a success, particularly all the hosts who “stepped up and specifically said, ‘I want people I don’t know at my house.’” Lorbert gave a special shoutout to ArtScroll Printing for creating the dessert menus and logo designs. YINR Rabbi Reuven Fink added: “We have people here who have been here a long time and people here a short time. We come together and there is comradery and there is a commonality we have all together, in terms of our community. It is a very beautiful way to punctuate … the summer.”
Amanda Klatt, who hosted the dessert reception along with her husband, Jon, said, “We moved into the community a little under a year ago and we’re excited to be part of the community and felt that this was an easy way to help and get to know people.”
Serena Peiper, who moved to New Rochelle with her husband in 2009 and attended her first Women’s League barbecue the following Sunday, noted, “Our community has grown so much over the last few years and this event provides me with an opportunity to meet new people who have recently moved in.”
Women’s League Co-President Lauren Bochner explained, “The barbecue [is] a very well-liked event, and a great way to meet people; it’s a fun Sunday night out with people in the community.” Bochner was pleased with the turnout. “We had a lot of people coming, new people, seasoned, not seasoned, a great mix of people,” she said. “The people who have lived here for a while were excited … and the new people wanted to know more about this event, and many signed up.”
Ellen Fischel, one of the dinner hosts, said that this will be her third Women’s League barbecue. “I like opening up my home, I like meeting different people that I wouldn’t necessarily be having over, and I like the idea of bringing people together. I was excited to see who we would be having at our table.”
