Nate’s Bar Mitzvah celebration was held at The Evergreen in Southeast Portland, Oregon on Saturday, October 12, 2019. Less than two years ago, I had the opportunity to also DJ his brother Jack’s Bar Mitzvah party.
 
Guests began arriving around 6:30 and only 20 minutes later, we launched into some games for the kids. The family brought a giant glow in the dark jump rope and with black lights postioned over the dance floor, this provided a cool effect and the energy was immediate. There were also other activites upstairs, including photo booth and face painting.
 


 
After dinner, it was just one big party, as the dancing kicked off with the traditional “The Hora” and chair raising. Since the kids had all the great space upstairs, the adults owned the dance floor for the first 30 minutes, getting down to classic and recent hits, “September,” “Uptown Funk” and more.
 


 
The kids then joined in for “Old Town Road,” several tracks from Drake, current smash “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish and more.
 

 
Mazel Tov Nate and thank you mom Deborah for again choosing PRO DJs.
 

 
Dassi’s memorable Bat Mitzvah party took place at the Historic Treasury Ballroom in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, September 14, 2019. I was also the DJ for her sister, Taliana’s Bat Mitzvah in October, 2013.
 
Just like six years before, there was a lot on the itinerary for this event, including games, Havdalah, the chair raising dance to “Hava Nagilah,” Candle Lighting ceremony and Flash Mob dance.
 

 
Guests began arriving around 7pm and about 20 minutes later, the kids had a great time playing games, including “Would You Rather?” where beforehand I had Dassi answer some questions… the same questions I asked her sister in 2013, such as “Would you rather live without music or live without the Internet?” or “would you rather always have to say everything on your mind or never speak again?” Her friends on the dance floor had to pick a side of the floor for which answer they thought she chose and we did this until there was one friend left who knew her best 🙂
 
Following the Candle Lighting ceremony, cake cutting and video presentation, Dassi and some of her friends surprised the guests with a Flash Mob dance to “The Greatest Show” from the musical “The Greatest Showman.”
 

 
Not surprisingly, there was a lot of energy in the room following the flash mob and the dance floor was hoppin’ all evening to hot hits “Cupid Shuffle” and “Uptown Funk,” plus favorites of the Bat Mitzvah girl, Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry and YouTube tween sensation, JoJo Siwa.
 




 
Mazel Tov Dassi and thank you mom Soshana for again choosing PRO DJs.
 
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
 
“Rich did another fabulous job! I knew we were in good hands with Rich and he didn’t disappoint. He kept the teens and adults entertained. He was on point with the music selection for the candle lighting ceremony. The whole event was flawless!” -Shoshana Gordon (Dassi’s Bat Mitzvah)

• Event Date: Saturday, September 14, 2019
• Event Type: Bat Mitzvah
• Event Location: Treasury Ballroom
• Event Staff: Rich Ellis
• Quality of Customer Service via Telephone: Excellent
• Quality of Customer Service via Internet: Excellent
• Quality of Customer Service at Event: Excellent
• Friendliness of your Entertainer: Excellent
• Promptness of your Entertainer: Excellent
• Professionalism of your Entertainer: Excellent
• Entertainer’s Performance: Excellent
• Entertainer’s Appearance: Excellent
• System Appearance: Excellent
• Sound Quality: Excellent
• Overall Volume Levels: Excellent
• Music Selection: Excellent
• Incorporation of Your Requests: Excellent
• Lighting Effects: Excellent
• Equipment Appearance: Excellent
• Overall Customer Service: Excellent
• Planning Assistance: Excellent
• Entertainer’s Cooperation with Other Vendors: Excellent
• Overall Performance Rating: Excellent
• Would you recommend this service to others? Yes

 
DJ Rich Ellis had the opportunity to not only be the DJ, but also provide sound for the service at Liana and Sylvie’s B’not Mitzvah Celebration on Sunday, May 5, 2019 at Mittleman Jewish Community Center in Portland, Oregon.
 
Multiple microphones were needed for the two hour service, including a clip-on lapel microphone for the officiant and two boom microphones for the Torah readings.
 

 
Following the service, all guests were directed to the lobby for refreshments while the main ballroom was turned over for the reception. This allowed me time to beef up my sound system with a sub-woofer and set-up lighting for the dance floor.
 
After everyone returned, they formed two lines to welcome the girls to their party. I introduced them and per their request, played ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” for their entrance music.
 
After dancing a few songs, lunch was ready so I transitioned to some background music that included selections from Stevie Wonder, OneRepublic, Adele and more.
 

 
With the kids done eating quickly and time at a premium, I gathered the kids for some games that featured a fun version of “Who Knows Liana and Sylvie Best?” followed by a scavenger hunt.
 
After a toast and slideshow, I invited everyone out to dance to ‘The Hora’ and celebrate the twins on their b’not mitzvah with the traditional chair raising.
 

 
The floor was packed for nearly every song from then on and Sunday afternoon felt like a Saturday night.
 
Mazel Tov Liana and Sylvie and thank you Lisa and Noah for choosing PRO DJs.
 
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
 
“Rich was excellent from start to finish…a great communicator and willing to take on some extra sound duties for our service, which was a huge help. He helped us troubleshoot our microphone/sound needs to ensure we had great coverage throughout the service. Because the service ran a lot longer than we had hoped, the party got cut short so we didn’t get to do as much dancing as we would’ve liked. We were in good hands with Rich and are so glad we went with PRO DJS!” –Lisa Katon (Liana & Sylvie’s B’not Mitzvah) – Portland, OR

• Event Date: Sunday, May 5, 2019
• Event Type: B’not Mitzvah
• Event Location: Mittleman Jewish Community Center
• Event Staff: Rich Ellis
• Quality of Customer Service via Telephone: Excellent
• Quality of Customer Service via Internet: Excellent
• Quality of Customer Service at Event: Excellent
• Friendliness of your Entertainer: Excellent
• Promptness of your Entertainer: Excellent
• Professionalism of your Entertainer: Excellent
• Entertainer’s Performance: Excellent
• Entertainer’s Appearance: Excellent
• System Appearance: Excellent
• Sound Quality: Excellent
• Overall Volume Levels: Excellent
• Music Selection: Excellent
• Incorporation of Your Requests: Excellent
• Lighting Effects: Excellent
• Equipment Appearance: Excellent
• Overall Customer Service: Excellent
• Planning Assistance: Excellent
• Entertainer’s Cooperation with Other Vendors: Excellent
• Overall Performance Rating: Excellent
• Would you recommend this service to others? Yes