A Message from your Book Festival Co-Chairs

How the months have flown by!

It doesn’t seem possible that it will soon be March and there are only four more events before our Book Festival concludes. Comments received have indicated that the 2020-21 Book Festival is the best one to date. We are delighted that you are enjoying the wide array of authors participating in this year’s Festival.

Although originally we were very concerned about going virtual, there turned out to be numerous advantages to “Zooming” our Book Festival. Many of you have told us that you enjoy being able to watch the authors from the comfort of your couch, and not having to be concerned about such things as finding a parking space or getting a front-row seat.

We discovered many other benefits to this year’s virtual Festival. One of the most exciting was the opportunity to invite speakers from near and far — and not have to worry about plane fares and travel delays due to weather.

Lew Paper spoke to us from Pelican Marsh, whereas Susan Jane Gilman logged in from Switzerland. Raffi Berg greeted us from England, while Danny Limor provided fascinating information from Israel. And how wonderful it is that the members of our Greater Naples Jewish community are able to log in from throughout North America.

This year, Platinum and Silver Patrons were invited to select two Meet the Author (Zoom) events to attend. These programs, which immediately followed a Book Festival event, gave Patrons an opportunity to talk to and ask questions of the author from the comfort of their own homes. The sessions were so interesting and enjoyable, for both the Patrons and the authors, that most continued past the allotted time.

Meet the Author events were held with authors Debbie Cenziper, Alexandra Silber, Meg Waite Clayton and Alan Zweibel. In March, the last two Meet the Author events will be held with author Ariana Neumann, and author and historian, Pamela Nadell, the final presenter in the 2020-21 Jewish Book Festival.

Patrons Meet Patrons was another new program offered to all Patrons — Platinum, Silver and Bronze. These events provided community members a chance to meet informally with each other in small (virtual) groups. At a time when meeting new people is difficult, this gave Patrons an opportunity to chat with others, many of whom they didn’t know.

Another new initiative is the opportunity for you to submit suggestions of songs that reflect a specific Festival event. The first contest winner was Molly Getnick, who suggested both the “Theme to Mission Impossible” for Red Sea Spies and “Make ‘Em Laugh” for the event featuring the author of Laugh Lines, comedian Alan Zweibel. Congratulations, Molly!

We look forward to bringing you the four fabulous authors who will be speaking in March. We are confident that they will conclude the 2020-21 Jewish Book Festival in style — engaging, entertaining and enlightening you, the members of our Greater Naples Jewish Community.

We are Virtually Yours,

Susan & Robin

Susan Pittelman and Robin Mintz Volunteer Co-Chairs, Greater Naples Jewish Book Festival