What better way to celebrate the festival of lights than to attend a group menorah lighting ceremony?
Some of the menorahs used for these ceremonies will be traditional in size and material, but there will also be exceptionally larges ones, one made out of Legos and one created out of donated cans of food.
• Dec. 21: A 10-foot Lego menorah will be lit at 24th Street and Noe Street in San Francisco in a ceremony guided by Chabad of Noe Valley. After the menorah is built using the tiny, plastic bricks, candles will be placed on top. The lighting takes place at 5 p.m. and will be followed by music and latkes.
Chabad of Noe Valley created a Lego menorah once before, about six years ago, said Rabbi Gedalia Potash. “It was most popular [event] we’ve done!” he said. “It is all-inclusive. It sends a beautiful message when people can come together and build it themselves. We were looking to engage people and this one was the most fun.”
For details and to learn how to get in on actually building the Lego menorah, call (415) 821-7046.
• Dec. 21: For the 34th year, the Bill Graham Menorah will be lit in San Francisco’s Union Square. Rabbi Yosef Langer and Chabad of S.F. will once again lead the public festivities — a big crowd is always expected — in front of the huge, mahogany, outdoor menorah. Graham, the late rock concert impresario and a child of Russian Jews, originally underwrote the Union Square menorah lighting three decades ago.
Bill Graham Menorah Day will begin at 3 p.m. on Dec. 21, with the first candle being lit at 5 p.m. From Dec. 22 through Dec. 25, the candlelighting will be at 5 p.m.; Dec. 26 at
3 p.m.; Dec. 27 at 7:30 p.m.; and Dec. 28 at 6 p.m.
For more information, call Rabbi Langer at (415) 668-6178.
• Dec. 21: Chabad of the Greater East Bay will light a community menorah at 4 p.m. The event will be at the Bay Street shopping plaza (across from the Barnes and Noble bookstore) at 5816 Bay St. in Emeryville. There also will be live music by The Ferris Wheels, free dreidels and chocolate gelt.
• Dec. 21: The Chabad Center of Sonoma County is holding a number of menorah-lighting events. All will be at 5 p.m. and include refreshments, latkes and chocolate gelt, free of charge. Locations and dates: Whole Foods Market in Sonoma, Dec. 21; Fiesta Market in Sebastopol, Dec. 22; Oliver’s Market in Cotati, Dec. 23; the Village Court at Montgomery Village in Santa Rosa, Dec. 24; Oakville Grocery in Healdsburg, Dec. 28.
• Dec. 21: Chabad of Contra Costa County is going to host a Grand Menorah Lighting at the Broadway Plaza Fountain in downtown Walnut Creek on Dec. 21 and Dec. 28.
Additionally, Chabad Center of Contra Costa is presenting “Chanukah on Ice” at 7 p.m. Dec. 25 (the fifth night of Chanukah). People of all ages are invited to attend the menorah lighting at the downtown Walnut Creek ice rink, located at Civic Park, 1365 Civic Dr., and then skate to Jewish music from 7-9 p.m. There also will be sufganiot (jelly doughnuts) and crafts for children. Skating costs $14-$16 and includes skate rental. For more details, call (925) 937-4101.
• Dec. 21: An eight-foot tall menorah will be lit every night of Chanukah at Beth Chaim Congre-
gation, 1800 Holbrook Drive in Danville. From Dec. 21 though Dec. 28, the giant menorah will be lit at
7 p.m. For more information, call the synagogue at (925) 736-7146.
• Dec. 22: There will be a lighting at the Atrium at Stanford University Medical Center, 300 Pasteur Drive at
4 p.m. Sponsored by the Jewish Chaplaincy at Stanford University Medical Center, the lighting will include songs, stories and food. It is free and open to the public. For more information, call (650) 723-3808.
• Dec. 22: Chabad of Oakland is holding a lighting party at Piedmont Community Park, 711 Highland Ave., Piedmont at 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.jewishoakland.org.
• Dec. 23: Chabad of the North Peninsula will be introducing the “Yes We Can” menorah at 6 p.m. in Burlingame. The menorah will be constructed of donated canned foods, which will be distributed to poor families and the homeless after Chanukah. The lighting will be at Washington Park, 850 Burlingame Ave.
Moishe Weinbeum, Chabad of the North Peninsula’s program director, said they decided to create the canned-food menorah in order to help families in need.
“We decided to do it because it is a two-part mission: First, the kids can gather the food, and then the cans of food are donated to charity,” he explained. “And also, we wanted to try to be different.”
In previous years, Chabad of the North Peninsula set up a chocolate menorah, an ice sculpture menorah and one made of balloons. For details on the “Yes We Can” menorah, call (650) 341-4510.
• Dec. 23: The Richmond Torah Center will host two public menorah lightings in San Francisco, both beginning at 3:30 p.m. The first will be on Dec. 23 at Argonne Play-ground, 18th Avenue between Geary Boulevard and Anza Street. The second will be on Dec. 28 at the Golden Gate Park music concourse, near the museums. Along with the lightings, there will be music, dancing and crafts for children. For details, visit www.rtchabad.org.
• Dec. 25: Afikomen, the Jewish books and gift store, will have a free public menorah lighting at its store at 4:30 p.m. Afterwards, there will be music, storytelling, latkes and prizes. The ceremony coincides with the day of the store’s grand reopening celebration, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Afikomen is at 3042 Claremont Ave., Berkeley. For details, call (510) 655-1977.