City Families Celebrate Hanukkah Early With 'Latkepalooza'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Next Saturday marks the first day of Hanukkah, but some families in the city are starting their celebrations early this year.
TV 10/55's Ali Bauman was at the Museum of Jewish Heritage Sunday for "Latkepalooza," a family-friendly event that featured activities for kids and Hanukkah sing alongs.
Ann Toback from The Workman's Circle says there's been a rise of people who want to engage "Jewishly" in the community, but they don't always know how to.
"We created this event that the kids can celebrate and parents can celebrate and parents can learn how to take the holiday back to their own home," she said.
Kids are able to take home menorahs, dreidels, and even their headbands -- a symbol for the festival of lights -- that they design home with them.
The Workman's Circle -- who hosts the event at the Museum of Jewish Heritage -- hopes that in making these lessons fun, kids like Natalie Didner can better understand the traditions of their culture.
"I'm sort of learning about the religion and stories of Hanukkah," Natalie said.
The event's culinary namesake -- latkes -- are Jordan and Jolie Davis's favorite thing about the holiday. Their mom brought them to Sunday's event for reasons far beyond the food.
"Keep the tradition, keep it celebrated," Natalie Davis said. "Eat lots of latkes, spin the dreidels, sing the songs and everything. Just keep it moving."