On the beautiful Tuesday afternoon of December 15th, our community gathered to celebrate the Festival of Lights at Volunteer Park in Plantation, FL.

People came from all over town to participate and share in the spirit of the holiday. I had envisioned an event like this for quite a while, and with the support of Rabbi Bater, we created an afternoon of Hanukkah fun which included: dreidel games, arts and crafts, face painting, menorah lighting, lots of singing, and a surprise "Sevivon Piñata". Of course, there was also traditional food (latkas and sufganiot) and goody bags with Hanukkah gelt and treats for every child. 

We all were very pleased with the 80+ people who turned up and actively participated. Through our postcards and advertising, this number also included non-temple-members and we made sure that they all felt welcome among us.

As an extra bonus and with the spirit of Tzedakah, we collected donations for JAFCO. These will be delivered on behalf of the temple just as we did for last year’s also very successful Hanukkah party which took place at our previous store front location.

I’m always so happy to share my passion for Jewish music with Temple Beth Israel, and really enjoy volunteering to bring music to the young families through TBI’s Tot Shabbat, Singing Shabbat, and High Holiday Family -- services.

This event was especially close to my heart since Hanukkah, with its large quantity of available music, is one of my favorite holidays.

I hope to continue in the future to help Temple Beth Israel grow through more programs like this one. Please remember to come and support these since everyone of you counts!

Once again, thanks to those who came to sing and celebrate with me. I hope you all had as much fun as I did!

Before closing, I want to thank the following very special people who helped me make this event possible:

• Debbie Kay who was on the phone with me every step of the way and who came to the park to set up and do the face painting. (Debbie is a real expert!)…


• Amy Sherman and her daughter Marissa, who helped with the registration and bookkeeping and with giving beautiful stamps to each child that walked in…


• Brenda Stein, who took care of the arts and crafts that all the children enjoyed so much…

and...


• Bob Kennedy, who ordered the food and a van to transport everything (including the sound equipment), and who always puts up with my many requests.

Of course, to create an event like this there are lots of expenses, and we were lucky to have had Aura and Ben Kaufman sponsoring us. Thanks to their generosity we were able to bring in so many people for only a nominal fee of $18.00/family.

Finally, a personal thanks to my husband for his unselfish support of my projects, and to my three children who were all present and helped out in many ways.

Until next time…

Frances