Pride Weekend

Friday, May 31, 2024 through Sunday, June 2, 2024

Join Temple Emanu-El and TEQ for a weekend full of meaning and fun! Pride Shabbat Weekend this year will include:

• Shabbat Dinner following Shabbat B'ma'agal services with guest speaker Jaimie Krass of Keshet [Register Now!]
• Shabbat Morning Services with drash from Jaimie Krass followed by a panel discussion during kiddush
• Sunday evening Comedian, Michele Balan, to close out the weekend [Register Now!]

Jaimie Krass:
With anti-oppressive pedagogy and a love of adventure as her modi operandi, Jaimie serves as Keshet's Director of Youth Programs. She brings a decade of creative curriculum design experience, an innovative spirit, crisis management skills, and boundless energy to this holy work of building a more just, affirming, and celebratory world for LGBTQ+ Jewish youth.

Prior to joining Keshet, Jaimie served as a Hillel campus professional for seven years (two at Muhlenberg College Hillel in PA, and five at Columbia/Barnard Hillel in NYC), creating and leading immersive experiences, reimagining Jewish tradition, and empowering students to seize ownership of their journeys and become leaders in their communities. She received her B.A. in political science and Jewish studies from the University of Florida, and her M.A. in experiential education and nonprofit professional leadership from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Throughout her career—and extending back to her teenage years—she has advocated for LGBTQ+ justice and inclusion, facilitating trainings at a variety of conferences, JCCs, and synagogues, and creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ Russian-speaking Jewish teens in Brooklyn, NY. 

She is a dedicated crisis counselor with The Trevor Project, can recommend a good taco place in just about every neighborhood of NYC, and lives in Manhattan with her wife and their dog, MishMish. 

Michele Balan:
Michele Balan is a classy comedian with attitude. Sometimes class has  to move over for the attitude. Michele was one of the finalists on NBC’s  “Last Comic Standing,” and she was "The Last Woman Comic Standing." She has appeared on The Joy Behar Show, Byron Allen's  Comics Unleashed and the OUTlaugh Festival on MTV's LOGO. Michele headlines all over the country and is appropriate for all audiences. Along with her stand-up, Michele writes for many other well known comedians and is a contributor to a variety of magazines. Michele was voted one of the “Top 10 Comics” by Backstage Magazine. Often told she was naturally funny, the Brooklyn native left a high-paying executive position at a computer company to pursue comedy and she has been performing ever since.  

Don’t miss the chance to see this funny woman in action!

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