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