Opening Night Celebration

An Evening Honoring Carol and Irwin Wagner

Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013
5:30 p.m. Reception, Phillips Social Hall
7 p.m. Program & Film, Elaine Wolf Theatre, MACC
Carol & Irwin Wagner, 2013 Mizel Arts and Culture Center Cultural Achievement Honorees

inviteimageAvid baseball fans, Carol and Irwin Wagner, moved to Denver from Chicago in 1960. They joined the JCC where they built a legacy of leadership and generosity that has extended to other organizations like Rose Medical Center, Kemp Children’s Foundation, Facing History and Ourselves, the President’s Council of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and Brandeis University. Meanwhile, after a successful 34 year professional career, Irwin started his own firm in 1996 – Wagner Wealth Management – and his son Gary joined him in 2001. Carol also owned a successful art gallery and served on the board of the Mizel Arts and Culture Center (MACC) since 2006.

The Wagners conveyed their love of Judaism, Jewish values, and community to their children, who participated in JCC and Ranch Camp programs. Gary recently served as President of the Robert E. Loup JCC in 2009-2010; Ted is currently Treasurer of the board of the JCC of Greater Detroit; Susan served for many years both on the board and as Treasurer of the Karis Community House; and Gary’s son, Cale, now serves on the Rose Youth Foundation board.

These vibrant connections created the groundwork for a stellar partnership between Wagner Wealth Management and the Denver Jewish Film Festival (DJFF). Their generous support has facilitated the Festival’s unprecedented growth, becoming one of the premier Jewish Film Festivals in the country.

Carol and Irwin are the kind of people who work quietly behind the scenes doing whatever needs to be done. We believe their gentle wisdom and unwavering community support have truly made a difference. We are very pleased to honor the deeply deserving Carol and Irwin Wagner with the MACC’s 2013 Cultural Achievement Award.

Opening Night Film

  1. Feb 6

    at 5:30 pm

    Hava Nagila (The Movie)

    Director: Roberta Grossman
    2012/USA/73 minutes
    Language: English

    Please note: The Opening Night reception begins at5:30 p.m.; the program and film start at 7 p.m.  Tickets may only be purchased for both the reception and film.

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    This iconic little ditty is easily one of the most familiar pieces of Jewish culture. Jews and non-Jews alike throughout the world recognize this tune in just a few notes. Singers as diverse as Connie Francis, Harry Belafonte, and Glen Campbell have all performed and recorded this Jewish standard during their careers. In fact, Hava Nagila is so ubiquitous, we never give it a second thought. In this film, Roberta Grossman takes a loving, often irreverent, and always entertaining look at the life of this amazingly resilient song, from its birth in the early-19th-century European shtetls though the dance culture of the kibbutzim in Israel’s founding era to today’s b’nei mitzvah and wedding circuit and beyond. Through interviews with famous recording stars, respected scholars, and average people on the street, this hilarious, thoughtful, and touching film will have you tapping your feet, grinning from ear to ear, and maybe even drying your eye from time to time. Colorado Premiere
    —Steve Glickman

    Selected Awards & Festivals

    World Premiere, San Francisco Jewish Film Festival; Boston Jewish Film Festival; Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival

    Opening Night Sponsor

    Ellen Beller

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