28 | NOVEMBER 24 • 2022 

C

ongregation Beth Shalom of Oak 
Park will host its seventh annual 
Chanu-Con!, a community-wide 
Chanukah Festival, in person from 1-5 p.m. 
Sunday, Dec. 4. 
After two years of hosting the festi-
val virtually due to the pandemic, Beth 
Rodgers, Congregation Beth Shalom’s pro-
gramming team chairperson and founder 
of the festival, is excited to bring 20 ven-
dors together with gift ideas, live musical 
entertainment, children’s activities, kosher 
food and more.
“This is an event for the entire communi-
ty. Everyone is welcome, and the admission 
is free,
” Rodgers explains. “You don’t have to 
be Jewish to enjoy the festival, and it’s for all 
ages from 0 to 110.
”
New this year, Congregation Beth 
Shalom partnered with the Safrai Fine Art 
Gallery of Jerusalem and will have more 
than 1,000 pieces shipped from Israel on 
display for sale. 
“By purchasing a piece from the Safrai 
Fine Art Gallery of Jerusalem, people will 
get to support artists from Israel while a 
portion of the proceeds will directly benefit 
Congregation Beth Shalom,
” she said.
You can also expect to see a few new 
activities at the festival.
“We have our raffle where you can win 
prizes from our contributors. Usually held 
in person, now you can sign up online and 

have up until 11:59 p.m. on the day of the 
event to purchase tickets,
” Rodgers adds.
Other activities you can expect to see at 
Chanu-Con! are local organizations like 
Reboot (an arts and culture nonprofit that 
reimagines and reinforces Jewish thought 
and traditions), JFamily doing Chanukah 
Bingo, King David Network (an online 
radio network promoting Jewish ideals and 
music) and so much more. 
Rodgers recalls how she managed to 
organize the first Chanu-Con! festival in a 
short three months where the community 
really came together, and hundreds of peo-
ple came out to celebrate. This inspires her 
to bring it back every year. 
“We live in a community where there 
are Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, 
Reconstructionist, secular, all different 
kinds of people who are Jewish, and I want 

them all to feel welcome and included,
” she 
said. “Chanukah is meant to be celebrated, 
and it’s a season about togetherness, kind-
ness, light and good. And all those things 
are showcased best when you’re as inclu-
sive as you can possibly be at an event like 
Chanu-Con!” 
Rodgers says she wouldn’t have been 
able to put together this festival without 
the support of the community and spon-
sors Bernard Wealth Management, Cohen 
Lerner and Rabinovitz PC, Vibe Credit 
Union, Hillel Day School, Hebrew Free 
Loan, Julia Robin Interiors, Kravings, 
Lincoln Rx Pharmacy, Sidetrack Books and 
Adrienne Berlin Design. 

For more information, visit bit.ly/chanucon2022.

OUR COMMUNITY

Seventh Annual 
Chanu-Con!
A community-wide Chanukah festival presented by 
Congregation Beth Shalom is back in person Dec. 4.

RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Full room view of Chanu-Con! 
from a previous year.

Beth Rodgers and her 
husband, David, at a 
Chanu-Con! Festival

