The Luncheon Celebrating the Museum’s 20th Anniversary

The Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center is excited to host The Luncheon, its Winter fundraising event, in person for the first time in two years! To mark the museum’s 20th Anniversary at the end of 2021, The Luncheon will feature a special performance of the new short play “Remember -The Story of Abe Price” by Jeffrey Binder. The play is produced by Gulfshore Playhouse, Founding and Producing Artistic Director Kristen Coury and Managing Director Joel Markus.

Abe Price was a Holocaust Survivor and Naples resident who spoke of his family’s experiences during the Holocaust with
thousands of students and members of the public. He shared his story to inform others of the dire consequences the loss of respect for each other can have. He did not want anyone to endure the losses he did of family and loved ones because of hate. In 1997-1998, Abe worked with Golden Gate Middle School 7th graders for their “Out of the Ashes” project about the Holocaust. The
project, which the students dedicated to Abe, inspired the creation of the museum. Abe was a co-founder and served as a museum educator at the new museum for many years. Several days before he unexpectedly passed away in February 2014, he visited a school to speak with students about his experiences. He made such an impression on them that they attended his funeral, which touched Abe’s family deeply.

“Remember” is the second short educational play on which the museum and Gulfshore Playhouse have partnered. The plays were designed to be presented to 7th – 12th grade students during a standard class period in Holocaust Studies, history, social studies, language arts or theatre classes, or as a school assembly performance. Museum staff will visit a school to present a pre-performance Holocaust history lesson. The students then see the play and participate in a post-performance “talkback” with the museum and Gulfshore Playhouse education staff. A post-performance activity is also available, designed to engage students in a discussion about the play, and the personal take-away for them. In 2017 the short play “In Flight – The Story of Sabine van Dam” by Hester Kamin was created and presented. To date, “In Flight” has been seen by approximately 8,000 Southwest Florida students, teachers and members of the public.

“In Flight” describes how Holocaust Survivor and Naples resident Sabine van Dam and her family tried to evade capture by the Nazis. Like Abe Price, Sabine and her husband, Jacques, were museum educators who generously shared their experiences to encourage Southwest Florida students and the public to act against bigotry, hatred and violence. For more information and to schedule a performance of “Remember” please contact Steven Calakos, Director of Education, at (239) 261-7529 x207 or at scalakos@gulfshoreplayhouse.org.

“Remember: The Story of Abe Price” is generously funded in part by: National Endowment for the Arts (arts.gov). Tickets for The Luncheon are $150 per person and will be available for purchase on the museum’s website – HMCEC.org. A variety of sponsorship
packages are also available. Sponsors will be recognized in program and promotional materials and at the event. Event committee members for The Luncheon 2021 are Maureen Lerner, Estelle Price, Nancy White, Rosalee Bogo, Diane McGinty, Sandra Lee Buxton, Sandra Roth and Nancy Barbounis. Proceeds benefit the museum’s education programs.

For more information, visit the website or contact Tim Morrison at the museum: Tim@HMCEC.org or call 239-263-9200 x207.

The Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. Its mission is to teach the lessons of the Holocaust to inspire action against bigotry, hatred and violence. For more information on how you can support the mission and sponsor education programs, exhibits and events, please contact Susan Suarez, Museum President and CEO, at Susan@HMCEC.org or call 239-263-9200.