Photo by David Lazaroff
In 2015, The Washington Post named the Brothers Lazaroff Hanukkah Hullabaloo one of the top eight Hanukkah celebrations in the country.
Hanukkah
Celebrate Hanukkah with a weekend of music. If you’re staying in town, visit The Grandel Theatre on December 14 for the Brothers Lazaroff’s annual Hanukkah Hullabaloo, featuring Rabbi James Stone Goodman and the Eight Nights Orchestra and DJ Boogieman. Another option: Missouri Botanical Garden will host a Chanukah Festival of Lights including Israeli music and dance and a menorah-lighting ceremony. Or head to Illinois, for a one-hour concert from the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band, named for the Windy City’s old Sunday-morning Jewish marketplace. The concert will take place December 15 at 1 p.m. at the North Shore Congregation Israel.
Kwanzaa
Here, the Missouri Botanical Garden celebrates the Festival of the First Fruits on December 30, from noon to 4 p.m., with a day of storytelling, crafts, and musical performances. In Chicago, the Smithsonian-affiliated DuSable Museum of African American History celebrates Kwanzaa with a series of performances and activities. While you’re at the museum, check out the current exhibits, including South Side Stories: The Art and Influence of Dr. Margaret T. Burroughs, 1960–1980 and Freedom, Resistance, and the Journey Toward Equality.
