Southfield

Boutique show, luncheon draw women to annual event

By Jennie Miller
C & G Staff Writer

SOUTHFIELD — More than 700 women are expected to attend a boutique show and luncheon on Wednesday, May 6, at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The annual event, the Lois Linden Nelson Woman’s World, will feature an array of shopping, as well as a lunchtime visit from Dee Dee Myers, a onetime White House press secretary for President Bill Clinton and current bestselling author of “Why Women Should Rule the World.”

“It’s a great day for members of the synagogue, as well as the community,” said Denise Kalt, a co-chair of the event. “The shopping boutiques (have) wonderful items at great prices. And the lunch and the speaker — we always tried to pick somebody who is really interesting for all the different women that attend, whether it’s mothers, grandmothers, daughters, friends.”

Myers fits the mold perfectly, said Karen Couf-Cohen, a co-chair of the event.

“(Her book) really poses the question: What would happen if women played a key role in global governing?” Couf-Cohen said. “She proposes it would be a very different world, and really one that incorporates the dynamics of how they communicate and nurture and try to make things better. … This really seemed like the perfect speaker to talk about women and how they could impact the world.”

Last year’s event featured author Lauren Weisberger, who wrote “The Devil Wears Prada,” and drew some 700 women to the event.

While attendance at the luncheon comes at a $54 cost, local retailers supplied gifts, jewelry and apparel for the boutique show, which is free to the public.

“We will have a wide variety of vendors that will have very chic apparel and gifts,” Couf-Cohen said. “Some are vendors that do boutique shows exclusively; some are retailers such as Lori Karbal, who does business in Birmingham, and she has various gifts and accessories; The Annex in Royal Oak, which sells women’s apparel; Babara’s Paper Bag, (which offers) stationary and gifts in Birmingham; and The Art Loft in Birmingham.”

New eco-friendly “green” goods will also be featured.

The annual raffle also draws some interest, Couf-Cohen said, adding that this year’s many prizes include four tickets to the Jonas Brothers concert.

The entire event is a fundraiser for the synagogue.

“We do fundraising for our congregation for Israel and for MAZON, which is a Jewish charity that deals with hunger,” Couf-Cohen said. “And due to the economy, people are having a harder time paying our tuition and dues (for) our religious school and nursery school, and so our fundraising also goes toward tuition assistance.”

“It’s something very important for the synagogue, to help with their needs,” Kalt said.

Congregation Shaarey Zedek is located at 27375 Bell Road in Southfield. For tickets and event information, call (248) 357-5544 or visit www.shaareyzedek.org.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Jennie Miller at jmiller@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1108.