A Montgomery County, Maryland, neighborhood wanted to celebrate a young girl’s bat mitzvah, but how do you do that when you can’t gather people together because of the coronavirus restrictions?
Debbie Berger Fox, of Somerset, organized a drive-by parade for Olivia, the daughter of her friend Erin Chlopak.
Berger Fox said kids like Olivia put their heart and soul into getting ready and emphasized this was a great way to show her everyone was proud of her, even though they could not celebrate together.
Berger Fox said her friend struggled with the decision to postpone Olivia’s bat mitzvah and decided that they would go ahead with the service through Zoom, a video conferencing program.
But what about the party that typically follows such an event?
“It will be anti-climactic, because they would just be sitting in their house,” Berger Fox said.
Berger Fox had seen drive-by parades that have been happening since quarantines and stay-at-home orders have been established. And she made a decision that her family was going to drive by Olivia’s house. She notified others in the neighborhood to let them know, and then several people responded that they were in.
“My kids got really into it and said, ‘We’re going to decorate our car. We’re going to do a parade. We’re going to make posters,’ and I was thrilled. Because every hour that you could fill with something that is not screen time is a plus,” Berger Fox said.
Some 15 cars, including those of friends who did not live in the neighborhood, turned up. They had signs and had music blaring from their vehicles.
Berger Fox said Olivia and her family did not know they were coming and were gobsmacked by the gesture.
“We live in a really lovely community sometimes called Mayberry because we’re all friends and all the kids have grown up together,” Berger Fox said.
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WTOP’s Kyle Cooper contributed to this report.