Dancing, jumping and swaying, more than 450 people rocked out to the music of Dan Nichols and Eighteen, a Jewish rock band from Raleigh, N.C.
It was the perfect snapshot of West Coast Party 2010, a weekend that celebrated the sheer pleasure of being young and Jewish — and an event with an unofficial motto of “there ain’t no party like a West Coast Party and a West Coast Party don’t stop.”
Sponsored by the Reform movement’s youth program, the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY), West Coast Party brought together 375 teens (more than half of whom came from the Bay Area) and around 100 staffers at Camp Newman outside Santa Rosa.
“I’ve never seen this many Jewish kids before — it’s overwhelming,” said Avi Brenman, 15, of Belmont.
The assistant directors of the URJ Camp Newman, Ari Vared and Aliyah Shulkin, with assistance from NFTY regional board members, put in months of planning for West Coast Party, culminating with the filming of the entire group singing, “Party in the URJ,” with special lyrics written to the music of “Party in the USA.”
The event featured Israeli dancing, concerts and even an ’80s-themed dance party, but also delved into serious Jewish topics, under the umbrella theme of “Telling My Story.”
In one program, “What’s My Story?” participants had a chance to tell their own stories in connection with several topics relating to their Judaism. In another, teens learned about the civil rights movement and how Jews have worked with other faith and ethnic communities in the past.
Mostly, though, the teens appreciated spending time with fellow Jews, meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones from NFTY programs and camps.
For Brenman, who is three-quarters Chinese, seeing Jews of other ethnicities (including black and Latino Jews) at West Coast Party was a rare treat.
“I’ve seen several Asian Jews,” he said. “I don’t feel alone.”
Samantha Herzog of Palo Alto, the president of the Central West Region of NFTY, spoke for many participants when she noted that the weekend simply allowed her to be herself.
“Here I can experience myself and be Jewish without being held to the conformity of traditional Judaism,” she said. “I feel more Jewish, more proud to be Jewish.”
On the event’s final night there was a rare moment of quiet when Aaron Steinfeld of Southern California asked for a moment of silence for the people of Haiti. A weekend-long project to collect change for Haitian relief efforts netted more than 40 pounds of coins and bills, totalling $1,116.
Even as the party was breaking up on the morning of Jan. 18, people were still singing choruses from “Party in the URJ.”
As Rachel Tochterman prepared to go back to Sacramento, she was already thinking of the impact the event would have on her life — and on her family.
“We take it all back home,” she said, “and our families become more Jewish.”
For Scott Lorsch, 17, from Scottsdale, Ariz., attending West Coast Party was a reminder for him to stay connected with Judaism next year as a freshman in college.
“I don’t want to lose the feeling of excitement for Judaism I have here,” he said.