Local Teens Get Creative At Maccabi ArtsFest

The lead singer belts out the last few lines of a hard-hitting song, the long-haired guitarist hammers out the final chords, the entire band owns the stage and the fans scream in delight.

No, this is not a recap of Aerosmith's recent concert in Boston. This is a performance put on by teens, some of them representing the North Shore, during the Jewish Community Center Maccabi ArtsFest held in San Rafeal, California August 8 through the 13.

"The kids are hugely talented," said Adam Smith, executive director or North Shore Teen Initiative. "It was incredible to watch them create and perform. But what is even more incredible to me is the camaraderie between these teenagers and the relationships they developed with each other in just one week."

The Maccabi ArtsFest is an opportunity for Jewish teens from around the country to come together and explore their interests in a variety of artistic specialties, such as acting, culinary art, music, visual art and more. Participating teens spend the majority of ArtsFest week in classes with a professional artist in their field of interest, but also partake in social events at the local JCC and service projects in the host community.

This year, the North Shore Teen Initiative traveled to the San Rafeal Maccabi ArtsFest with 22 teen artists, the largest traveling delegation at the event. This is a pretty impressive feat for the young NSTI, Smith said, which was developed in 2008 with the goal of enriching Jewish youth programming on the North Shore.

"We took a dynamic group of talented kids and, throughout the week, their actions never ceased to amaze me," Smith said. "First of all, we had a terrible travel experience. Our flight got cancelled and the airline couldn't rebook such a large group so we had to split up. Me and my group of kids then had a five-hour layover in Miami. Rather than complain, the kids organized a scavenger hunt in the airport."

But the teens' high energy and optimism were not the only things that stood out to Smith. He was also impressed by the friendships that emerged from ArtsFest. 

"The teens are broken down by specialty," said Smith. "If you are in rock band, on day one you are put in a band with other teens, most of whom you have never met. You then spend hours a day with them everyday for the entire week practicing to perform at the rock show. In this setting, you develop relationships with other kids from across the country very quickly."

The Maccabi ArtsFest was an intense, fun-filled week, but members of the NSTI are no strangers to a busy schedule. So far this year, the NSTI has put on hundreds of social events, service activities, and educational and extracurricular opportunities.

"Our goal is to raise the bar of Jewish youth programming and make sure the best of what's out there is available to teens on the North Shore," said Smith.

Judging by the NSTI's event calendar, the group is busy and Smith is already looking to next year's ArtsFest.

"It is definitely in our hopes to host the ArtsFest in 2011," Smith said. "We would love to share our community with 200 to 300 Jewish teens from across the nation but, to do so, NSTI will need a lot of support from community."

To support NSTI in their efforts to enrich Jewish youth programming on the North Shore, or to learn more about the initiative, visit their Web site.

Go to the NSTI's facebook page to see more photos and videos of the Maccabi ArtsFest.