The 2021 edition of our in-person, safety-first Winterfest arrives on Dec. 5, but in the meantime, it’s time to celebrate Hanukkah, otherwise known as the Festival of Lights, which kicked off on Nov. 28 and runs through Dec. 6.
Hanukkah commemorates the recovery of Jerusalem and the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The centerpiece of the Hanukkah celebration is the menorah, and it is a time of year to celebrate love, family and tradition.
Mill Valley is lucky enough to have Chabad Mill Valley, the local chapter of one of the largest Hasidic groups and Jewish religious organizations in the world. It has been in Mill Valley for more than 20 years. It is run by Rabbi Hillel Scop and his wife Chana Scop, who opened their Brooklyn community space and retail shop just across the street from the Depot Plaza at 29 Miller Avenue in 2018.
Chabad Mill Valley’s celebration of the season kicks off Wed., Dec. 1 at 5:30pm at its Brooklyn space for a lighting of a 9-foot menorah, hot latkes with applesauce, Sufganyot jelly doughnuts, chocolate Hanukkah gelt and dreidels and crafts for kids and live music. They follow that up Dec. 2 with a grand menorah lighting in Tiburon at 5:30pm. They cap it off with a lighting of the first-ever ice-sculpted menorah at Winterfest at 4:30pm, along with chocolate Hanukkah gelt and dreidels and crafts for kids throughout the day.