NOVEMBER 2 • 2023 | 41
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et ready for eight 
nights of Chanukah 
with the eighth 
annual Chanu-Con! at 
Congregation Beth Shalom 
in Oak Park. The event is 
free and open to the public.
Enjoy children’s activities 
and entertainment, kosher 
lunch options from Bloom’s 
Kosher Catering, live music 
and the beloved 50/50 raffle. 
Oh, wait! And, of course, 
anything and everything 
you need to be the best 
Chanukah gift giver of all 
time! 
You may think you know 
why Chanu-Con! is called 
Chanu-Con!, but unless 
you are Beth Rodgers, the 
founder and leader behind 
this annual event, you don’t. 
Sure, everything is “con” 
these days! As in short for 
convention. But that is not 
how Chanu-Con! got its 
name. Beth Rodgers’ oldest 
son Evan, now 10, as a newly 

speaking kiddo loved the 
PBS show Super Why! And 
one of the episodes was all 
about the Chanukah story. 
He could not pronounce 
Chanukah yet (and who 
could blame him!) and 
so Evan started wishing 
everyone “Happy Chanucon.” 
And Chanu-Con! was born!
Typically, about 20 vendors 
sell gift items at Chanu-
Con! Some have been part 
of Chanu-Con! every year, 
such as illustrator and author 
Howard Fridson, perhaps 
best known for his murals 
outside Lincoln Rx Pharmacy 
in Oak Park and Chazzano 
Coffee Roasters in Berkley. 
In the last year, Fridson also 
became the president of 
Congregation Beth Shalom. 
Fridson illustrated and 
Beth Rodgers wrote the book 
Welcome to Chanu-Con!, which 
will be available for sale and 
author/illustrator autographs. 
New vendors this year 

include SYS Etching and 
Engraving and YGazm Art, 
among others. 
Hundreds attend Chanu-
Con! to browse and buy. 
The first year of the event, 
Beth had no idea how many 
people would come or who 
would come; 400 people 
came! A goal of the event 
is to be welcoming to all 
whether you are shomer 
Shabbos or secular or not 
Jewish at all. The second 
year the event brought in 600 
attendees. So, if you want the 
first pick of all the awesome 
gifts, get there early. 
This year, the 50/50 raffle 
will be split between three 
lucky raffle winners. The 
first winner receives 25%. 
The second winner receives 
15%. The third winner 
receives 10%. The other 50% 
will go to Congregation Beth 
Shalom. Raffle winners do 
not need to be present to 
win.

One much-beloved 
component of Chanu-Con! 
is the opportunity to buy 
artwork directly from Israel, 
provided in partnership with 
the Safrai Fine Art Gallery 
in Jerusalem. Both framed 
and unframed artwork will 
be available for purchase. 
Fifty percent from the sale 
of each piece sold will go 
directly to Congregation 
Beth Shalom and the other 
50% to the Safrai Art Gallery 
of Jerusalem. 
All the artwork will 
be available to view and 
purchase during the event. 
People interested in the 
artwork from Israel can also 
reach out to the synagogue 
at (248) 547-7970 to set up a 
preview time. 

YEVGENIYA GAZMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Chanukah Fun

All you need for eight nights of Chanukah are at 
the eighth annual Chanu-Con.

A scene from 
last year’s 
event.

Details 
Chanu-Con! 8th Annual 
Community-Wide 
Chanukah Festival 
Date: Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023
Time: 1-5 p.m.
Place: Congregation Beth 
Shalom, 14601 Lincoln St., 
Oak Park 
Details: bit.ly/chanucon2023

