Mitzvah Party Podcast

Last-minute Mitzvah Parties! As the pandemic restrictions are reduced, families are scrambling to book their parties. What happens when the DJ has to use the client's equipment? Why working elementary school graduation parties is good for a mitzvah party business.

What would be the best mitzvah party of all time? Why did candle lighting ceremonies go away? Sometimes the parents are narcissistic and make the party all about themselves. Playing the guest's favorite song four times in a row!

The Winnipeg, Canada Mitzvah Party King! Special Guest: Barry Kay, CherryTreeProductions.com. How a seventeen-year-old kid went from playing music for "dancing ladies" to owning the top mitzvah party entertainment company in a major city! How asking the right questions with curiosity and creativity will create an incredible experience!

How to find good talent for mitzvah parties! How talent is discovered by entertainment companies. How talent can get hired! The worst faux pas an entertainer can do at a mitzvah party!

Where are the new Mitzvah Party Performers? Special guest, Benjamin Asher, BenjaminAProductions.com. As we approach the reopening of live events, many of the entertainers and professionals have left the industry. Where will the new generation come from?

How to interview mitzvah entertainment online. Ask a question then shut up. "What do you NOT want?" How a good professional deals with mishaps. Why some clients try to control everything.

What are Your Pronouns? The LGBTQIA+ community sensitivity protocol is now a part of the mitzvah party world. Asking for identity pronouns as soon as possible is not only socially correct and appropriate but also good business!

Special Guest Wendy Timson, ShagCarpetProps.com. How a large event decor company in Dallas handled the pandemic. How many different mitzvah party hockey themes are there? Using the pandemic shut down as an opportunity to evaluate, upgrade and streamline the business.

Special Guest Randi Steinhart! RSEventsDallas.com. How the pandemic changed mitzvah events in north Texas. Innovating with food presentation and delivery! Opening Texas doesn't mean safety precautions will stop!

Gil is on Twitch! How the pandemic provided Gil with the opportunity to DJ online on a different platform and reach a new audience! What happened to episode 84?

How a "Say Yes" attitude is good business! Special Guest: Jordan Marshall, XEevents.com. How looking for the best way to serve the mitzvah market immediately when the pandemic began became the foundation for pivot choices and boosting his business brand! Not just providing zoom events but finding ways to create the best experience possible!

Do you need a Pandemic Compliance Officer? How do you get certified as a Pandemic Compliance Officer? How does a PCO help your event? What will your guests need to know?

What is a ParkMitzvah? Special Guest Bernie Gaps, Absolutely Fabulous Events! AbsoFab.net. Bernie explains how practicality, ingenuity, and innovation can work together to create a fabulous Bat-Mitzvah! Turning headphones into car speakers!

Is it Time to Leave the Event Industry? Special Guest: Jordan River, JordanRiverPro.com. Why constant education is so important. Can you pivot to another industry that still uses your skillset and speaks to your passions?

An In-Person, Safe, Socially Distanced Live Event! Special guest Gary Bordman, ae-es.com, JustCallGary.com. Using proximity elements to enhance an online avatar event. Adding advanced digital options to a virtual Mitzvah party.

How to Learn to Pivot Your Mitzvah Party Business! Special Guest: Heidi Hiller, InnovativePartyPlanners.com. How Heidi learned to take her event company to the digital world.  @InnovativeParty on Instagram @InnovativePartyPlanners on Facebook. @MitzvahPros on Facebook @MitzvahPros on Instagram

Give your Mitzvah Party guests instructions! Special Guest: Brynne Magaziner, event planner at PopColorEvents.com. Join the Mitzvah Pros Facebook group! Does everyone have the latest version of Zoom? Include timeline and info with the gift boxes sent to the online guests.

Enter the Virtual Mitzvah Party World! Special guest Ari Nisman, DegyWorld.com. Experience "There-ness" by creating your avatar and choose the online world that perfectly fits your Bar/Bat Mitzvah day. From small micro-events to huge parties with major celebrities!

Special Guest: Rabbi Becky Hoffman. Rabbi Becky explains a Jewish interfaith family. How a Reform rabbi has been dealing with Bnai mitzvahs during the pandemic. A temple lets the bar/bat mitzvah family take the Torah home the night before the ceremony.

Special Guest: Gil Goren. How he adapted during the pandemic for his daughter's Bat Mitzvah. Where do you get a Torah? Mitzvah party in a huge Hummer limousine!

Special Guest: Jill Effron. How to make your Zoom Bar/Bat Mitzvah the best experience for your child and the guests. Turn your home into a television set! The importance of communication and instructions for your guests before the event.

Special Guest: Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro, UniSyn.org. A cantor's perspective on Bar/Bat Mitzvahs during the pandemic. Kerith's experience with Gil for her daughter's mitzvah party!

Special Guest: Cara Weiss, SaveTheDateLLCEvents.com. How bar/bat mitzvah events in the Washington DC area have evolved during the pandemic. A new online platform using avatars for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. Clients are sending elaborate swag bags to guests for a better online experience.

Mitzvah Party innovations on Zoom. Play the photo montage first! Learn about "Car Hora"! The client from New York told Gil to say, "Shut Up!" to her guests.

Special Guest Rabbi Barry Altmark. DeepSouthRabbi.com. Because of the pandemic, the formal adult Bat-Mitzvah became an afternoon casual outdoor affair. How the 13-year old's grandparents participated even though they were halfway around the world from the ceremony!

Special Guest-Cat Benner! NextExitPhotography.com. Mitzvah parties during a pandemic. The Bat-Mitzvah girl and her friends were dancing in the streets! More Zoom Bar and Bat mitzvah parties.

Special Guest, Cindy Hassel of SRO Events. SROEvents.com. How have people adapted and adjusted their bar and bat mitzvahs to the pandemic? Cindy describes the advanced video and audio techniques her company uses to accelerate the Zoom experience.

Mitzvah parties during a pandemic. Gil experienced a zoom bat-mitzvah ceremony. They borrowed a Torah! The resort that divided up the dance floor.

Looking forward to 2020. How we will expand the Mitzvah Party Podcast.

Does a holiday get in the way of a mitzvah party? Find out what is happening inside and outside of your party venue. Don't let your entertainment company oversell you.

TheGirlWithFiveNames.com article about a bat-mitzvah party disaster. When in doubt, tap dance. How a professional MC would defuse a tense moment. Is it as bad as you think?

Special guest, Eyal Simko, owner of TheOneUpGroup.com. Creating extravagant mitzvah parties. How to find the right performers, technology, and content for a big event.

Special guest, Mandy Hanlon, account director for social events at a five-star hotel. How to prepare when searching for a venue. What are the right questions to ask? What not to do.

Planning a Mitzvah party on a budget, part 3.  How to prepare amateur photographers and videographers to be in the right place at the right time. Using a Photo Wrangler. Investing or renting equipment. Where to buy party favors at a great price.

Wedding MBA for officiants recap.  "Without me, there is no wedding!" What is the officiant's actual role on a wedding day?  What could possibly go wrong?

Mitzvah Party on a budget part 3.  Following a theme with simple, affordable accessories.  The Lego mitzvah party.  The Camping mitzvah party.

Mitzvah party on a budget part two: Venues. What questions to ask when considering a venue that has never hosted a mitzvah party. Can the building handle the power requirements? Are there rules and/or restrictions for sound and food?

The Mitzvah Party on a budget, part 1. What's the number one recommendation to reduce expenses? How to imagine your party budget. Feeding 50 people for less than $100. What's the most important part of the party?

Special Guest Randy Kort. ExtravangazaOnline.com. PartyOnTheEdge.com. How thinking out of the box can be good for business. When the kids started a food fight. How to manage cell phones during the party.

The Mitzvah Party Finalization Sheet. Breaking down the requested elements and important questions on the free party planner guideline that's a free gift when you tell Gil you heard about Zuniga Entertainment through the podcast.

Special guest, Cindy Hassel, SROEvents.com. When the client doesn't see the big picture. Why they need to be reminded that weather is real. Does the venue have a good emergency plan? The dad wants his son to enter the room on a horse.

LGBTQ+ mitzvah party. Sometimes it's the parents. Someday it might be the mitzvah kid. How to be mindful of language in conversation and marketing so the LGBTQ person feels comfortable and included.

Special guest Bernie Gaps. AbsolutelyFabulousEvents.com. How a degree in engineering makes a huge difference in a decor and event company. No matter how great the idea, someone has to make it and get it there.

Special Guest Joel Curtis, MC/DJ. The Bar-Mitzvah boy with a broken leg is standing up on the chair when it's lifted into the air. The grandmother is upset because the photo montage has her wearing the wrong dress. Annoying music requests.

Special guest Jake Jacobs. DJJakeMusic.com. How a good attitude and a bit of humility can smooth over rough waters with a difficult event professional. How a great party crowd makes the effort of the entertainers totally worth it.

What is the highlight of the mitzvah party? Are candle lighting ceremonies disappearing? Unique family party traditions. Here come the big butts.

Grandma is the client. The twin Bar-Mitzvah boys couldn't be bothered so Grandma wanted a party for adults. How friends and family supported the mother.

Special guest Cindy Hassel, event planner. SROEvents.com. Her most impressive mitzvah party. The current generation of kids and their party ideas. How to handle a conversation when the parents vision doesn't match the mitzvah child.

Special guest Troy Christian. RuffHouseEntertainment.biz. Film maker, dancer, choreographer. The $1.5 billion mitzvah party. Filming an orthodox mitzvah ceremony. What's the first thing someone should do when planning a mitzvah party?

Special guest! Cat Krantz Benner, photographer, NextExitPhotography.com. Time is the most important component of a Mitzvah party. Extra lighting makes a huge difference in the photos. The delicate balance between photographers and videographers.

When the other mitzvah party professional is an a-hole. How to prevent ego conflicts. Gil and the band leaders almost come to blows. How to prepare the videographer and photographer.