Congregation Beth Israel will celebrate a decade of growth in Forsyth County today with the opening of the county’s first Jewish youth education center and a free afternoon festival for families.

The Jacques Preis & Evelyne Salama Youth Education Center will be formally dedicated during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. at the congregation’s Brannon Road campus in Cumming. A Jewish Family Festival will follow at 3 p.m., with kosher food, live Jewish music, rides, giant inflatables, games and prizes.

The opening represents more than an expansion for one congregation. It marks another stage in the development of an organized Jewish community in a county where Jewish families once had few nearby places to worship, study or celebrate holidays together.

From a Storefront to a Growing Campus

Rabbi Levi and Chaish Mentz founded Congregation Beth Israel in August 2016, initially operating from a storefront at 600 Peachtree Parkway. At the time, many Jewish residents of Forsyth County traveled to North Fulton or farther south for synagogue services and religious education.

The congregation moved to Brannon Road after acquiring two adjoining five-acre properties near GA 400. What began with a house on the property has gradually developed into a larger synagogue and community campus serving more than 400 families.

Congregation Beth Israel describes itself as Forsyth County’s first synagogue and North Georgia’s first full-service synagogue. Its programs now include Shabbat and holiday services, JUDA Hebrew School, summer camp, youth activities, adult education and social groups for families and older residents. The congregation’s history of its first decade traces that growth from its original storefront to the present campus.

The new education center gives that growth a permanent home for the next generation. It also arrives as South Forsyth continues to become more culturally and religiously diverse, particularly around the GA 400, Peachtree Parkway and McGinnis Ferry corridors.

Congregation leaders envision additional phases for the campus, including expanded community facilities, recreational space, an aquatic center, a Jewish day camp and a mikvah. Those plans would further establish the Brannon Road property as a regional gathering place for Jewish families across Forsyth and neighboring counties.

Today’s Celebration Is Open to Everyone

Doors open at 1 p.m., followed by the ribbon cutting at 2 and the family festival from 3 to 5 p.m. Admission is free, and the broader community is invited.

The celebration will take place at Congregation Beth Israel, 795 Brannon Road in Cumming. Off-site parking and complimentary shuttle service will be available at the Forsyth Conference Center at Lanier Technical College. Visitors are encouraged to register in advance to receive parking instructions.

Complete festival and registration information is available through the official event listing.