Parade and Grand Menorah Lighting Planned for Celebration of Chanukah
Two major events are scheduled by the Chabad of Fountain Hills this year to celebrate the holiday of Chanukah.
On the first night of Chanukah, Wednesday, December 25th there will be a parade of cars from Fountain Hills to Rio Verde to share the light of Chanukah and the message of Jewish pride and unity. The parade line-up will begin at the back parking lot of Chabad of Fountain Hills, 16830 E. Avenue of the Fountains at 4:00 pm, with departure scheduled for 4:20 pm. The menorah lighting at the Rio Verde Fire Station 442 will take place at 5 pm. If you would like to participate in the parade please RSVP at JewishFountainHills.com/CarParade.
A second menorah lighting will take place on Sunday, December 29th at 4:30 pm when the Chabad of Fountain Hills will ignite a public 12-foot menorah erected on the Avenue of the Fountains in front of the Center, followed by a community-wide celebration. The ceremony will feature local dignitaries, live music, hot latkes, jelly doughnuts, crafts for children and more. The event is free and open to the public.
“The menorah serves as a symbol of Fountain Hills’ dedication to preserve and encourage the right and liberty of all its citizens to worship G-d freely, openly and with pride,” Chabad Rabbi Mendy Lipskier, who organizes the annual event, said. “Specifically in America, a nation that was founded upon and vigorously protects the right of every person to practice his or her religion free from restraint and persecution, the menorah takes on profound significance, embodying both religious and constitutional principles.”
For more information regarding Chabad’s Chanukah events visit www.JewishFountainHills.com. For questions or to be an event sponsor, email info@JewishFountainHills.com or call 480.795.6292
This year the Chanukah holiday begins on Wednesday evening, December 25th, 2024 and lasts eight days till Thursday evening, January 2nd, 2025. Fountain Hills’ menorah is one of thousands of large public menorahs sponsored by Chabad throughout the world, helping children and adults from all walks of life discover and enjoy the holiday message. Throughout Arizona, Chabad will be presenting scores of Chanukah events and celebrations including public menorah lightings, giant menorahs, menorah parades, latkes parties, giant dreidel houses, “Chanukah Wonderlands” and more.
Additionally, this year those who would like to learn more about Chanukah and celebrate in a variety of ways can access the website Chabad.org/Chanukah where they will find video games, how-to’s, and streaming of menorah lightings in cities around the world including Moscow, Madrid, Melbourne, Milwaukee and the village of Modi’in in Israel, where the revolt of the Maccabees–the heroes of Chanukah–originally took place.
