Coming up on Thursday, August 21, 5-8 p.m.
Quick highlights
- Free child care for attendees
- Kosher gourmet menu featuring pecan-crusted chicken, heirloom tomato salad, olive oil cake, and more
- Open bar featuring signature cocktails from Key Circle Commons
- Play our new “Ring Bling” event to win a $4,000 Avani Rupa diamond ring
- Online silent auction opens to everyone Sunday
- Live auction featuring dinner with Bruce Pearl at Automatic Seafood and Oysters, a diamond pendant from Levy’s Fine Jewelry, a Kentucky bourbon tour, and a gourmet meal prepared in your home by Chef Chris Hastings, and more…
- Tuition raffle for Cohn ECLC parents
Also note that we will open the Sokol (“Fitness Floor”) entrance for members who want to use the facility during the event.
Now in its fourth year, we already consider our J’la Gala to be our most prestigious event — and a tradition. But like any solid tradition, we’re excited to freshen it up for a few hundred of our closest friends with some new features and offerings.
For parents
First off, our child care service will offer peace of mind (and eliminate one possible excuse to not attend!) for many of our attendees. Just be sure to reserve your spot(s) by Tuesday, August 19.
In addition, gala-goers who are parents of children enrolled in the Cohn Early Childhood Learning Center will be eligible to win a free month of tuition. Learn more from Ms. Alley.
Menu
Attendees will be able to kick off the festivities with a visit to our open bar to sample the night’s signature cocktails courtesy of Key Circle Commons: the gin-based Bubbe Yenta and the rye whiskey-based Schlemiel.
And no “rubber chicken” at the J’la! Instead, Chef Maureen Holt and her staff from Southern Graze will use our on-site kosher kitchen to prepare pecan-crusted chicken preceded by two passed appetizers and an heirloom tomato stack salad. And be sure to save room for her olive oil cake with blueberry-bay leaf compote.
“After a series of medical and employment issues, our scholarship from The J was just what we needed to get back on our feet. And our girls have had such a great experience at the Cohn ECLC.”
—Therapist Rebecca Lay, who moved her family from New Orleans a year ago before benefitting from a J’la-funded scholarship
‘Ring Bling’ game
A new event this year will see attendees vie for a $4,000 white gold diamond ring designed by the mother-daughter team of Avani and Rupa Patel and donated by Avani Rupa Fine Jewelers. The simple game will entail buying a $100 entry, and the winner will be announced during the event. All proceeds will benefit The J.
Auctions
The online silent auction will launch on Sunday. Open to everyone (even if you’re not attending Thursday’s event), the extensive auction list includes lots of artwork, sports tickets, dining packages, local performances, car washes, spa visits, a bicycle, a “visit Florence” package… and plenty more.
The live auction — a highlight of the event — will feature sometimes raucously competitive bidding for:
- A stay at a prestigious WaterColor property
- At-home dining experience with Chef Chris Hastings
- Exclusive wine package
- Private dinner with Bruce Pearl at Automatic Seafood and Oysters
- Diamond pendant from Levy’s Fine Jewelry
- “Best of B’ham” dining package featuring some of the city’s finest establishments
- Tour for two through Kentucky’s beautiful bourbon country
- See details for all of these items
But you’ll need to be present to bid and win in the live auction, and — thankfully — you’ve still got time to buy tickets…