SOCIAL SAN DIEGO

Peter Yarrow: Live in San Diego

Folk legend Peter Yarrow of 1960s folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary will visit San Diego to perform live this month.

Yarrow, a lifelong friend of Linda Carroll, Psychotherapist and board certified life coach, will be in La Jolla on February 28 to entertain. All proceeds will benefit Carol and her daughter’s charity foundations, Little Mercies and Just One at a Time.

Tickets are $175 each, and attendees are encouraged to bring a donation of new underwear, school and art supplies, or hygiene products to be delivered to shelters in the Tijuana area. Tickets may be purchased at www.justoneatatime. org/concert.html. For questions, email lindacarroll44@gmail.com. The exact location of the concert will be sent to attendees upon registration.

We're All Dreamers It has been a busy six months for 68-year-old San Diego playwright Jonathan Rosenberg. In August, he and his writing partner, Brad Ross, wrote and co-produced the World Premiere musical, 33 1/3 – House of Dreams, which ended up being the highest grossing and best-attended musical in the San Diego Repertory Theater’s 44 year history, bringing with it seven San Diego Critics Circle nominations. He is currently in Phoenix, Ariz., preparing for his second world premiere musical, Americano, at the Phoenix Theatre, the centerpiece of their 100th season. The musical is based on the life of Tony Valdovinos, a DREAMer who arrived in Phoenix at age two, only to find out that he was not a citizen when he went to enlist in the Marines. Americano, which runs from January 29 through February 23, has a book co-written by Jonathan and Phoenix Theatre Artistic Director Michael Barnard. International recording artist Carrie Rodriguez has composed the music with musical arrangements from Sergio Mendoza (Orkesta Mendoza, Calexico). Jonathan actually first heard Carrie perform at The Belly Up in Solana Beach, and knew Carrie had to be involved with this project. Michael and Jonathan also collaborated on the lyrics, which are incredibly meaningful and memorable. Rosenberg’s Havurah and other members from Temple Adat Shalom have supported him throughout, with some members planning a road trip to Phoenix in February to see Americano.

High School Student Plays Lead Role

West Hills High School freshman, Levi Laddon, is no stranger to the stage. He has performed in dozens of professional productions at the Old Globe Theatre, Coronado Playhouse, and Young Actors Theatre. Now, he’s about to take on his toughest role yet, a lead in gUnTOPIA, a dark comedy that satirizes the normalization of gun violence.

Playwright Will Cooper’s world premiere, gUnTOPIA introduces audiences to a Leave It to Beaver-style America where gun ownership is universal and shooting deaths are no more bothersome than a parking ticket. A child is shot and no one seems to care. It’s totally normal. The notion is absurd – or is it?

Laddon plays Bobby Nelson, a young boy who accidentally shoots his sister and feels no remorse whatsoever because he is living in a world where gun violence is just a normal part of life. More shocking, Bobby’s parent accept the news with barely a shrug.

Laddon is up for the challenge of this complex role and issue. “I’m so excited to have this incredible opportunity to be able to work with such a talented cast and creative team on a play that is so important, especially in light of current events,” says the 14-year-old actor. “As a young person in America, gun violence issues are very prevalent in my life due to recent school shootings. I hope that this play will leave audiences more educated and aware of the crisis our country is going through.”

Raising awareness and sparking conversation about gun violence played a great role in The Roustabout Theatre Co. choosing to produce gUnTOPIA. “It was important for us to tackle this issue because gun violence impacts the majority of Americans at some point in their lives,” says Roustabouts founding member, Phil Johnson. gUnTOPIAperformances will take place at MOXIE Theatre at 6663 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego 92115. Previews begin Sunday, March 8. Opening Night is on Friday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased online at www.theroustabouts.org.

Avodah San Diego to Launch This Summer Avodah, a national antipoverty organization dedicated to strengthening the Jewish community’s impact on the most pressing justice issues of our time, will launch its fifth Jewish Service Corps location this summer in San Diego. Avodah San Diego is a collaboration between Avodah and Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS), one of San Diego’s oldest and most impactful nonprofit human service agencies.

The only year-long program of its kind, the Avodah Jewish Service Corps provides young Jewish leaders with the opportunity to make tangible change on issues including criminal justice reform, affordable housing, education, healthcare access, climate justice, immigration, and more by providing them with hands-on, full-time direct service positions at local organizations addressing poverty and inequality.

Avodah Corps Members live communally within a pluralistic Jewish framework, and engage in a robust curriculum that provides Jewish education and context for their antipoverty work. Since its founding in 1998, nearly 1,100 Avodah Corps Members have served at nearly 300 social service agencies, adding nearly $20 million in capacity and assisting more than 700,000 individuals facing the challenges of poverty. The program currently operates in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and New Orleans.

“In launching Avodah San Diego, we are building a pipeline of leaders in the region that will impact the local Jewish community and its work toward social justice for many years to come,” Avodah CEO Cheryl Cook, said. “We are especially looking forward to having a significant local impact on the current immigration-related issues facing San Diego, one of the main points of entry for refugees, asylum seekers, and other immigrants, as more people are fleeing their home countries for safety and freedom than ever before. By bringing our time-tested program to this region of the country, we will build and strengthen a network of Jewish leaders eager to support immigrants and refugees and fight for justice on their behalf.”

“Jewish Family Service served nearly 40,000 individuals in the San Diego region last year, providing much-needed assistance in the areas of nutrition, transportation, and immigration services,” said JFS CEO Michael Hopkins. “We are excited for Avodah to bring and develop future leaders in San Diego where they will amplify and enhance the critical work JFS and our partners are undertaking every day.” Visit avodah.net to learn more.

MISS ISRAEL 2013 TO HEADLINE JNF'S LOVE OF ISRAEL BRUNCH

Jewish National Fund-USA (JNF) is bringing the first Ethiopian Miss Israel, Titi Aynaw, to headline its 9th Annual Love of Israel Brunch on March 22 at 10:30 am. The annual event is being held in conjunction with Jewish National Fund’s Major Donor Weekend and will take place at the Omni San Diego Hotel. Tickets can be purchased for $36 by visiting jnf.org/SDBrunch2020. Titi will take the stage with San Diego’s CBS 8 morning news anchor, Stella Inger Escobedo.

A top Israeli model, television personality, and advocate for Israel, Aynaw became the first Israeli-Ethiopian to win the Miss Israel title, opening the door for other models of Ethiopian heritage and causing advertisers to reassess their attitudes towards black models.

“I am a proud Ethiopian-Israeli woman and I am very excited to return to America and meet Israel supporters at the San Diego Love of Israel Brunch,” remarks Aynaw. “My previous trips to the U. S. began a dialogue that needs to continue, so I am very happy to continue to share my personal story and I invite people of all backgrounds to come hear about my journey.”

“Our annual Love of Israel Brunch has become a San Diego Jewish National Fund reunion of passionate individuals who all share a love of our homeland,” said Jewish National Fund’s National Campaign Director Sharon Freedman. “We are so honored that this year’s event is co-chaired by Elaine Chortek and Susan Chortek Weismann. And

the fact that San Diego was chosen as the location for JNF’s Major Donor Weekend is a real testament to the incredible lay leadership led by our National President and First Lady Dr. Sol and Lauren Lizerbram and San Diego President Shari Schenk.”

Born in the Gondar province of Ethiopia, Aynaw always dreamed of immigrating to Israel. Her father passed away when she was a toddler, and she was 12 when she lost her mother to a longtime illness. Aynaw and her brother moved to Israel soon after and lived with their grandparents in Netanya. She served in the Israel Defense Forces as Company Commander with the rank of Lieutenant. After completing her officer’s training, Aynaw joined the Military Police and had up to 300 men and women under her command. She recently founded the “Titi Project,” which provides extracurricular activities and enrichment to Ethiopian children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Netanya. She hopes to expand the project in order to give more children educational opportunities that she lacked growing-up. She is currently on a leave of absence from the IDC University in Hertzliya where she studies international relations.

Stella and Titi will have an engaging conversation, connecting about their immigration stories. Stella was born in Uzbekistan, former Soviet Union. When she was just seven years old, her family came to the U.S. as refugees. Stella grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from USC. Her journalism career has taken her to many places across the nation.

Jewish National Fund invites all San Diegans to consider becoming a major donor with a minimum gift of $5,000 and enhance the lives of our Israeli brothers and sisters. Join us, join your community, and meet fellow major donors from around the country during the Major Donor Weekend. Be a part of the festivities, meet like-minded individuals who all share the magic of Israel engagement and who are making a substantive difference in developing Israel.

For more information about Jewish National Fund’s Major Donor Weekend and Love of Israel Brunch, please contact Monica Edelman, San Diego Director, at 858.824.9178 x988 or medelman@jnf.org.