The Ramaz Annual Dinner

Rabbi Lookstein and the Ram mascot pose at the Ramaz dinner with the Ramaz logo as the background.

The annual Ramaz dinner is an evening where the school celebrates Ramaz and its community by highlighting aspects of the three divisions of the school: the Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School. The dinner is a fundraiser to cover the difference between tuition and operating the school: it is the highlight of the Ramaz fundraising campaign. The campaign stretches out from the beginning of the school year to the end and the dinner is the main event of it. 

The dinner took place at Pier 60 located in Chelsea Piers. There is a dinner committee that organizes and puts together the dinner, which includes Ramaz alumni, parents of Ramaz students, and members of the Institutional Advancement team. The dinner is meant to celebrate Ramaz and show how spectacular the students are. One of the most important parts of the dinner is to highlight the students and show gratitude towards the faculty and administration. 

The decision to have the dinner was made in September. There was a hope that this would be an opportunity to bring the community back together and move forward. This is the first year that the dinner was in-person since the start of the pandemic. The dinner took place at Pier 60, and not at the New York Marriott Marquis, as in years past. The dinner is attended by parents, grandparents, faculty, staff, administration, alumni and friends of the school. 

This year, the Ramaz dinner honored Rabbi Lookstein, who turned 90 this year. The school celebrated Rabbi Looksteins’s 90th and Ramaz’s 85th birthdays. At the dinner, Rabbi Lookstein received a gift and video about him, introducing who he is, and gave a speech. He also received a solo in one of the choir performances.

At the dinner, the chorus of all three divisions performed. The Lower School had a video performance and the Middle and Upper schools performed live. There were also performances by the Dance Team, Band, Guitar Ensemble, Chamber Choir and  High School Choir. These performances contribute to the meaningful experience of the dinner and showcase the students’ abilities.

The food is set up as a buffet. By the buffet, there was a band where guests danced. One of the goals of the dinner is to have a place where members of the Ramaz community can socially interact with each other, alumni with alumni, faculty with parents. The dinner was a chance for everyone to reconnect with each other while celebrating the school. Overall, many attendees enjoyed the food and performances, as in past years.