Day One: A running start

The Eagles have landed…from NSW and QLD:

As the teams from New South Wales and Queensland arrived in ‘sunny’ Melbourne on Tuesday morning, Melbourne airport was overrun by Carnival participants and management. Some NSW flights featured as many as 40 kids! Youth leader Jesse Lenn summed it up best – “it was a little chaotic… kids moving around a lot, but we got here safely in the end which is all that matters… right?!”

After multiple sprints around the airport and almost achieving first name basis with those running the security checkpoint, management eventually wrestled control of the situation, ensuring in the swiftest way possible that all kids were accounted for.

Next, the participants were shuttled via coach to Caulfield Shule, wherein they were officially registered for the Carnival and billets were finally able to meet their host families after weeks of preliminary interaction.

The team from QLD make their long-awaited arrival to Melbourne.

An Opening Ceremony to be proud of:

The social calendar kicked off with a bang on Tuesday night with an opening ceremony that most Olympic committees could only dream of! Thanks to the work of co-organisers Jason Blumenthal and Cara Fitt, the ceremony went off without a hitch.

The night was emceed by the prodigiously talented Paralympic gold medallist and former Big Brother housemate Sam Bramham, who ensured it was grand opening to a grand event.

Shortly before taking the stage, Bramham shared with us a few words: “Sport is great. You win it’s great, you lose it’s experiential. There is so much to learn from it and it is great to be a part of such a great, strong and proud community, the Jewish community and I can’t wait to get this started and running.”

Another man who was super excited to see this event get off the ground was Justin Lipson, the Carnival manager, whose phone rings more often than Tony Abbott’s! Lipson called Carnival “16 months of culmination all coming together”.

He went on to say, “It’s going to be an exciting week, and a great event, the kids are all looking forward to it and so are we from a management perspective.”

The ceremony featured a number of speeches from various dignitaries including Maccabi Australia’s Barry Smorgon OAM, Maccabi Victoria’s Joe Dorfman, Victoria’s Attorney General Martin Pakula, as well as Carnival Rabbi, Rabbi Reuvi.

The Rabbi imparted some wise words upon the crowd – “the energy is unbelievable, this week the kids come together through sport to unite Jewish teens all over the continent. And by doing so, you ensure Jewish continuity.”

NSW pumped to be apart of a massive Opening Ceremony.

The formal part of the ceremony was rounded out by beautiful renditions of the Advance Australia Fair and Hatikva by Victorian participant Jemma Cher, as well as God Defend New Zealand and a haka from the New Zealand team, which needed to be seen to be believed.

Finally, the torch was lit, the oath recited and formalities concluded. Parents were sent packing whilst VIPs headed to an allocated space to consume canapés and mingle, leaving the participants to party as hard as they desired to the beats of Future Music Festival DJ Jay Levy.

The vibe was electric as the kids got into what must go down as the best opening party of any Carnival ever. Further entertainment was provided by Déjà vu DJs, including fire twirlers that definitely captured the attentions of the participants.

Vic girls sharing a laugh as Carnival 2015 kicked off.

Overall, the night can only be described as a huge success, a beautiful note to begin a Carnival which is sure to live up to the heightened standard set for it from the outset.

Murmurs from the Crowd:

A chat with: NSW Youth Leader Hannah Vasin

Jake Rosengarten (Carnival Journalist): Obviously, as a youth leader, you are an integral part of the Carnival, so why did you jump on board?

Hannah: I did it as a kid, I came to Carni; I had a great time and want to give back. I want to make the experience for the kids as good as it can be, when I went it was amazing, so what I want to do is improve it and make it even better and give back to the community, that was the main part for me.

Jake: What aspects of the Carnival are you excited for most?

Hannah: Social events are always the most fun, obviously. The sports events are; you know, chilled, the social events are better every year and it is exciting to see what they have this year.

Stay tuned each day of Carnival 2015 to catch up on all the highlights from on the scene. Written by Jake Rosengarten. Photos by Zack Garkawe and Paul Topol.