Building Better Lit (Up) Bar Mitzvahs at the Camelback Golf Club

Celebrating their 75th anniversary in 2012, The Camelback Golf Club at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Scottsdale Resort & Spa hosts amateur golfers and professional players from all around the world. To truly celebrate the large milestone anniversary almost ten years ago, the course got a complete renovation from the Summer of 2012 to the Fall of 2013.  Since then the Indian Bend golf course not only got a massive facelift but the surrounding common areas have been revamped to have various hosting capabilities.

Our team over at Karma has been grateful to design lighting environments to properly invoke the theme for whatever the client may desire that day. We have been extra lucky to design lighting effects for very unique parties as well – including Bar Mitzvahs!

The classic tradition of a Bar Mitzvah, where a 13-year-old Jewish boy is regarded as a ‘man’ and is ready to observe religious precepts + eligible to take part in public worship, is estimated to occur daily in the United States. New trends for Bar Mitzvahs have leaned into more of a party atmosphere, as 13-year-old pre-teens can be a little more interested in celebrating with activities and their friends than just complete the classic ceremony itself.

Bryce’s Basketball Bar Mitzvah

Back in January of 2017, we created a lighting package to help our client Bryce have an energetic Bar Mitzvah that properly celebrated him! Using two sets of upright Truss, we hung two separate TVs to display a video and a rotating display screen during the party – all right up at the front of the dance floor. We then hung moving spots on top of the upright truss (well above the TVs) to have more controllable light in the room to upcast and rotate to match the height of the ceilings.

For the TVs themselves, we designed a custom background with animations that matched Bryce’s personality. He loves basketball and is a fan of the Miami Heat; so we used a mashup of the Miami Heat logo paired with his initials to craft a completely custom logo for the party catered directly to the client. To add an extra effect we even included a time clock countdown for certain specific moments during the party. We also cast music videos behind a custom frame we layered in front of the videos as they played!

The party continued well into the evening as folks enjoyed the activations around the dance floor, including a full DJ at the front of the dance floor and a basketball hoop! By specifically working towards Bryce’s likes and interests the overall lighting decor facilitated his own personality! Check out the final outcome below.

If you have any questions about designing a future lighting program, please feel free to reach out to us via our Contact Us page on our website. We are always here to answer any questions you may have.

Check Out More of Karma’s Epic Mitzvahs