baT MITZVAH
SOPHIA JOHNSON'S
IT'S PARTY TIME!
With the services complete, and Shabbat drawing to a close,
let's step into an Enchanted Forest to celebrate and have fun at
Sophia's Bat Mitzvah reception
Saturday Night Schedule
November 22, 2025
5:00pm ~ Join us at the Lake Forest Community Center Courtyard (Directions and a map can be found below, along with details that will make it easier to find parking and the reception area). We're kicking things off for the evening with a Mocktail Hour in the area just outside the courtyard (signs will direct you). Enjoy custom-crafted non-alcoholic beverages inspired by the Enchanted Forest theme, along with a variety of appetizers. A Havdalah service will also take place during this hour - it's short and sweet and is a lovely way to bring us all together before the big party starts. Be sure to visit the photo booth when you can - don't worry, the photo booth will be there past the Mocktail Hour.
6:00pm ~ The gates to the courtyard open, the main party begins! Find your table, get ready for Sophia's grand entrance. Once she is introduced, we will invite everyone to join us in the hora - a celebratory circle dance. The party lasts until 10pm, and in that time will be a delicious dinner, desserts, dancing, games, and more.
Mocktail Hour
Step into our Enchanted Forest and enjoy a Mocktail Hour! We'll have delicious non-alcoholic drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Sophia requested a dry event so that everyone, of all ages, can celebrate comfortably and joyfully.
In addition to the tasty food and drinks, the Mocktail Hour also is a time for socialization. You can visit the photo booth with an old friend or new acquaintance, sign the unique guest book, and find out the table where you will be sitting for the evening. Please join us for Havdalah as we say goodbye to Shabbat for the week.
Havdalah
During the Mocktail Hour, we will take a break to join together as a community and have a short Havdalah service. Havdalah, Hebrew for separation, is a Jewish ritual and ceremony performed to mark the end of the Shabbat and the start of the new week.
We are so fortunate that our dear friends, Bruce and Christina Baldwin, are talented musicians that have graciously agreed to learn the music and words to the Havdalah prayers. They will join Sophia to lead us in the short ceremony.
Once we enter the main courtyard, it will be time to find our tables and get ready to have some fun. We will welcome Sophia into the party, and dance a hora (circle dance) all together. The hora will culminate with Sophia being lifted up on a chair.
Some Enchanted Evening...
There will be a delicious dinner, delightful desserts, a DJ playing music for dancing and leading fun games for the kids - and kids at heart! There will be time to visit the photo booth for a while after the Mocktail Hour ends. Most importantly, there will be time to socialize with friends, old and new. We hope you have made some wonderful memories at Sophia's Bat Mitzvah - we will always be grateful that you were able to share in the celebration with us.
Directions and Parking Info
Saturday Evening Mocktail Hour and Reception will take place at:
Finding the parking area can be a bit confusing. so be sure to look on your left side as you travel to the venue. The parking structure is the best place to park for this event, and you should see it from the street on the left as you drive down Civic Center Drive.
The top of the structure is not covered, you can park up there or take the ramp to the lower part of the structure which is covered. Walk towards the Community Center campus from the parking structure and follow the signs to the back entry of the Courtyard, where the Mocktail Hour will take place.
Sophia Johnson's Bat Mitzvah