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Brightend Beach! Hannukah fest lights up Shorefront Y

Brightend Beach! Hannukah fest lights up Shorefront Y
Photo by Joshua Winata

It was a latke fun!

Youngsters learned the history of Hanukkah during the Shorefront Y’s Dec. 18 festival celebrating the eight-day holiday. Kids joined in on a rhythmic drum circle during which they were taken on a journey through ancient Jerusalem and the story of the Maccabees’s triumph in a relatable and kid-friendly way. The drumming was fun, but the tale still may have gone over one little boy’s head, said one Bay Ridgite, whose 2-year-old son participated in the circle.

“He loved learning the drums, he’s a very musical-type kid,” said Demian Cacciolo. “I don’t know how much really soaked in but I like to think it did.”

The holiday celebrates when Jewish rebels regained control of Jerusalem and the Temple there from an occupying force — as well as a miracle in which they kept an oil-burning menorah lit for eight days on one day’s fuel. Celebrants eat foods fried in oil — such as laktes — as a result.

Kids at he Shorefront Y even got to craft menorahs and candles of their own. And the organization’s b-boys even wowed the crowd with some non-traditional dance moves, said dad Alex Kleyman, who attended with his 8-year-old son.

“He was really interested in the break dance. He looked at it with excitement,” he said. “My son loved it.”

Reach reporter Julianne Cuba at (718) 260–4577 or by e-mail at jcuba@cnglocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @julcuba.