On December 5, the Merage JCC will join more than one hundred Jewish Community Centers across the continent in welcoming some beloved characters — one of which is blue and furry! The first episode of the new Shalom Sesame series, Chanukah: The Missing Menorah, finds Grover in a tizzy when his special friend Anneliese van der Pol (That’s So Raven, Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast) gets caught in a game of tag with a chicken and loses her special menorah …just as Chanukah is about to begin! Can her friends find the missing menorah in time? The Merage JCC will present a free screening of Chanukah: The Missing Menorah on December 5 at 4:30 pm with Anneliese van de Pol making a special guest appearance to meet with children and sign autographs.
The Shalom Sesame Chanukah episode screening is part of the Merage JCC’s Chanukah Extravaganza which will take place on Sunday, December 5, from 2 to 5:30 p.m. in the JCC’s Myers Theatre, Main Street, and the Patio (weather permitting).
The timeline for the day’s activities will be:
2-4 p.m. Author reading and beauty activities featuring the book Fancy Nancy, Ooh La La! It’s Beauty Day with illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser
4-4:30 p.m. Latkes, sufganyot and singing with Anneliese van der Pol
4:30-5 p.m. Shalom Sesame film — Chanukah: the Missing Menorah
5-5:30 p.m. Art activities for children, play Dreidel, build a giant Lego Menorah
5:30 p.m. Candle lighting and songs
The public is welcome at all Chanukah activities at the JCC. The Fancy Nancy event is for children ages 3 through 10 and costs $8 for JCC members and $10 for the public. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Latkes, sufganyot and other refreshments will be available for sale by Blueberry Hill. The Chanukah: the Missing Menorah film and the art activities, games and songs are free of charge.
The Shalom Sesame series is designed to help bring the vitality of Jewish culture and tradition as well as the diversity of Israeli life to American children and their families; each 30-minute, live-action and animated DVD will focus on storylines drawn from Jewish cultural traditions, highlighting lessons on Hebrew letters and words, unique sites in Israel, and Jewish values. Some very special guests, along with American and Israeli celebrities Debra Messing, Achinoam Nini (Noa), Mira Awad, Jake Gyllenhaal, Christina Applegate, Greg Kinnear, Debi Mazar, and other top-name talent, appear in the episodes. JCC Association created this collaboration with Sesame Workshop to make use of an internationally recognized and beloved brand to encourage families with young children on their Jewish journeys.
The Merage JCC is located at 1 Federation in Irvine. For additional information please contact Sheila Witzling at sheilaw@jccoc.org (949) 435-3400 ext. 237.