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Ra'anana-----September 28.......Israel Anglo Singles, Israel's largest Anglo on-line dating forum, is sponsoring a two day singles "Mini Woodstock" musical and camping event at Ra'anana Farms. Ra'anana is a northern suburb of Tel Aviv, Israel.
The Israel singles dating event features a Tribute to Simon and Garfunkel by professional artists Larry Fogel and Moni Arnon. The musical and camping singles event, which begins at 8 p.m. this evening, will also include a bonfire, wine and cheese tasting, horse back riding, hiking and breakfast at one of Israel most beautiful and romantic restaurants - Macom Balev.
"The Anglo single community in Israel has some very special needs," say event producer Joel Leyden.
"As single Anglos living and working in Israel, coming from such distant places as New York, Chicago, London, Manchester and Johannesburg, these Anglos lack a family support system. They are not married, they need to find and make friends and hopefully even secure a partner. Israel Anglo Singles, provides an on-line forum in Yahoo whereby over 700 existing members can exchange advice and inform one another about singles event in Israel. This forum transcends dating, it provides a warm place to connect 24 / 7."
Gabi Kirschtrung, who owns and operates Ra'anana Farms and the Ra'anana Horse Riding Academy, came to Israel from Holland 10 years ago. Over 25 horses can be seen strolling over this picturesque farm.
"I am very pleased to host this special Israel singles event," says Gabi. "I love to see people get some good vibes from the horses, forget about the daily stress, and just enjoy some wine and the open fields. I refer to this place as a "Happy Island." Gabi will be making her amateur Opera singing debut before "Sounds of Silence" and other Simon and Garfunkel tunes softly blanket the wheat fields and orange groves. Gabi says that she is not interested in making any profit on this event, but needs only to cover her costs for making up signs, electricity, supervision and cleanup after the event.
Moni Arnon, who was born in Israel, has many years of stage experience as an original member of “The Brothers and the Sisters” group, for which is played in with fellow American Larry Fogel. Together they perform the songs, spicing up the show with short, amusing and piquant background stories.
Fogel was born in Miami, Florida, and came to Israel with his family at the age of 12. Larry's affection to Simon & Garfunkel began in 3rd grade literature class, when he was taught one of Simon and Garfunkel's tunes - "Feelin' Groovy". He started performing in parties during high school. During his military service in the Air Force he was a self-appointed "one man band" with a guitar ready for social entertainment. When he was released from the Israel Defense Forces, Larry began performing with a friend at the "Briza" club in Tel Aviv doing songs by Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Don McLean, James Taylor, Crosby Stills Nash & Young.
After a short while the duo parted and Larry started a career as a solo performer. He moved on and performed in places like the "Ha'asam" club managed by Matti Caspi and Arik Sinai, "Habikta", and other popular places of the time. Afterwards, Larry dropped performing for a very long time to build a management career and a raise a family. About three years ago he returned to the musical scene in Israel, and started performing at Folk Clubs around the country, where American folk music is played and sung, including taking part in the "Jacob's Ladder" the annual Israel musical festival that takes place in the open at the Sea of Gailee.
At the end of 2003, Larry met Moni Arnon (from the "Brothers and Sisters" Israel group) and they started the successful "Simon and Garfunkel" tribute show currently taking place around the country. Moni Arnon Fans of the 1980's hit parades remember him, due to his hit "Broken Picture" that made it to the top. Others might recognize Moni from "The Brothers and Sisters", a trendy group that enjoyed high exposure performances on TV during that period. Later, Moni became a popular mixing and recording engineer. You can find his name on albums made by David D'or and Sharon Haziz, "Hamsa", Lea Shabat, Shlomi Shabat, Eyal Golan and others.
From his early days, Moni loved the folk songs style such as Simon & Garfunkel's. His friends back then, and many more soldiers that watched his performances during his military service, already knew this. Now, when he met Larry, his 'old love' could be renewed. Moni met Larry in a musician meeting at Shay Tochner's home – a famous Irish and American Folk musician. Moni was impressed by Larry's skills with Simon and Garfunkel's tunes and suggested a duo Simon and Garfunkel tribute.
"This mini Woodstock in Ra'anana will be the largest gathering of Anglo singles to take place in Israel," says Leyden. "We already have over 100 confirmations. People are coming in from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. At the present time, Israel is experiencing a heat wave. This event will make things even warmer for those attending. And hopefully the only thing melting this evening will be the hearts of those meeting potential dates and friends."
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