gr wish famili Holiday In The 'Hood Synagogues and Jewish organizations unite in a fun-filled Chanukah celebration. STORY BY ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM PHOTOS BY BRETT MOUNTAIN T he first thing you have to do is take off your shoes. Then you have to make sure you're not too tall. (Admission is for per- sons 3-feet and shorter.) Then, at last, you get to jump right in the yel- low, red and blue thing that looks like a huge marshmallow; then you join other kids, and you laugh and scream with joy as you jump around and up and down like you're a piece of popcorn. Welcome to the moon walk, just one bit of fun at a Chanukah in the (Neighbor)'Hood event held Sunday at the Jewish Community Center in Oak Park. The event was sponsored by the Benard L. Mass Foundation, the JCC, Congregation T'chiyah, the Bake Station, Temple Emanu-El, Congregation Beth Shalom and Young Israel of Oak Park. David Goodman, a T'chiyah member, was pleased that the sponsors represented such a var- ied group. Its so great to see the synagogues in the neighborhood working together," he said. Goodman said he was eager to participate in the day's program because "T'chiyah (which recently resettled in Oak Park) is new here in the neighborhood, and we wanted ways to be involved." Besides, Goodman admitted to being "a child at heart," so he felt right at home in the dizzying fun of the carnival at Chanukah in the 'Hood, which also featured a magic show, musical per- formances, arts and crafts, storytelling from the rabbis and much more. Goodman is a friendly, genial person, likely the reason he secured the plumb job of helping chil- dren at the moon walk. As boys and girls entered the JCC gym, they ran straight to the moon walk, where Goodman directed them to remove their shoes and get ready for the jumping. Of course, not everyone could do the moon walk at the same time, but there was plenty of other things to do. The JCC gym was filled with games where you could win lollipops, test your golfing skills or a game in which players set their plastic dreidel on the number that they're sure will be a winner. Lilly Morrison and her pal Rachel Cherry of Huntington Woods were laughing as they played a game where they tossed balls into paper cups. If the ball landed into a cup with an orange sticker at the bottom, the player won eight tickets, which could be traded for prizes. Lilly and Rachel loved the duck game best of all ("The most fun," said Lilly) and no wonder. Just 12/17 2004 36 about everyone turned out to be a winner. Sarah Bernstein, Congregation Beth Shalom member, was in charge of the game. Floating plastic ducks — bright-pink, orange, grape-pur- ple and green — all floated about in a red tub. If you got one with an "X" on the bottom, you got five tickets. Tiny children stood all around the edges of the tub reaching for the ducks, invariably finding one with the "X". Another popular event was the basket toss. Throw a ball into one of the buckets and win tickets. Raitzy Godfre, of Oak Park, a student at Ganeinu, loved the activity, which she played with sister, Shaindy, who attends Yeshivas Darchei Torah and who liked the arts and crafts best. Standing in line near the Godfrey girls at the basket toss were Becky Griffin and Gabriella Ring, both of Oak Park. The girls were taking a well-deserved break after performing in concert with other Congregation Beth Shalom choir members. Becky, who loves music and has been singing since she was 6, said she enjoyed performing "Latkes," "Not By Might, Not By Power" and "Don't Let the Light Go Out," while Gabriella's favorite song she sang that day was "Light One Candle." Decorative blue-and-white balloons bobbed all around, dancing about in the sweet breezes that came with children jumping and dancing and cavorting. But first, what carnival would be complete without some treats? Manning the prize table was not, definitely not, a job for the meek. Children came by the dozens, though most managed to stay in one of four lines when it came time to choose how to spend their tickets. The Center's Mike Dalessandro, Chris Galatis and the amazingly patient Donna Einhom all helped the children pick from among the goodies: thunder sticks, glow-in-the-dark balls, Red Wings notebooks, key chains, fuzzy purses and note- books. II From top to bottom: Raitzy Godfiyy, 4, of Oak Park works on a crafts project with Brachi 13, of Oak Park. Sarah Bernstein, 17, of Oak Park shows Adam Siegel 3, of Oak Park his winner in the floating ducks game while Rebecca Driker-Ohren, 4, of Huntington Woods and other children wait their turn. Shimon Ferden 2, of Southfield watches Eli Gerchak, 5, of West Bloomfield pick a prize.