Last year’s Chanukah event. {Chabad Jewish Center of Tamarac}
Tamarac is preparing to celebrate Chanukah with the 8th annual Chanukah Festival in the Park, set for Sunday, Dec. 14, at 4:30 p.m.
The event will take place at the Tamarac Recreation Center, 7501 N. University Drive, and is hosted by the Chabad Jewish Center of Tamarac. According to organizers, the festival has become one of the community’s most popular holiday gatherings.
Tamarac Mayor Michelle Gomez and several Tamarac city commissioners are scheduled to attend and help light the menorah alongside residents, organizers said. The Tamarac Fire and Police Departments will also be on hand throughout the event to provide security and ensure smooth operations.
This year’s festival will feature an LED light show, live klezmer music, kids’ crafts and activities, fresh latkes and donuts, and what organizers describe as one of the event’s biggest highlights: the Fire Truck Gelt Drop. During the gelt drop, members of the Tamarac Fire Department release chocolate gelt from atop a firetruck ladder, a tradition that draws excited crowds of children and parents each year, according to organizers.
Rabbi Kopel Silberberg of Chabad Jewish Center of Tamarac said this year’s celebration carries special meaning.
“This is our eighth annual Tamarac Menorah Lighting, which feels especially meaningful since it matches the eight days of Chanukah,” he said. “It is a chance for our whole community to come together with light, joy, and Jewish pride.”
The festival will also include a toy drive benefiting children spending Chanukah in local hospitals. Attendees are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy, which teen volunteers will wrap later in the week before delivering them to hospitalized kids.
“A small gift can mean the world to a child who cannot be home for the holiday,” Rabbi Silberberg said. “This is a beautiful chance for our community to spread light in a real and meaningful way.”
The event is free and open to the entire community. The first 50 people who RSVP will receive a special Chanukah souvenir, organizers said. RSVPs can be made at JewishTamarac.com/Chanukah.
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