Everyone living here has experienced the changing demographic of our community as over 1,600 Jewish families have moved to Winnipeg from Israel, eastern Europe, the United States and South America, increasing our Jewish population to more than 16,500. 

This demographic change was most evident to me on Yom Hazikaron, as I realized that  the Berney Theatre was filled with so many new faces-many Russian Israeli immigrants whose names I did not know.  The change is evident in the halls of Gray Academy as one can hear Spanish, Russian and Hebrew.

A  decade ago, our Jewish community had dwindled form a peak of about 21,000  people in 1961 to just over 14,000 by 2002. In response, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg established the GrowWinnipeg Initiative --which has had its greatest  its greatest success in attracting new immigrants.

To  celebrate this success, an event  will be held at the Asper Jewish Community Campus on June 3 for newcomers, host families, and anyone and everyone interested in attending. The evening will feature a kosher barbecue, DJ Barry Kay and door prizes.

To buy tickets online, go to http://www.jewishwinnipeg.org/growparty.aspx