Menorah Celebration Madison

It’s been a busy last few weeks and I meant to post this wonderful ceremony that took place at the  Hilldale shopping center in Madison. I connected with the Chabad of Madison to capture the wonderful moments involved in the lighting of the menorah ceremony. 

The day was bitterly cold, but as the hardy midwesterners that we are, we made the best and most of the situation. Free jelly donuts, hot drinks, and festive music were on hand to warm the spirit. The kids gathered to see the members of the Chabad do some fire juggling! The guest speakers on hand to say some words of unity for all faiths and cultures included our very own Gov. Tony Evers, Supreme Justice Rebecca Dallet, and Madison County Executive Joe Parisi. We even got to see Tony light the menorah, after a few attempts, since it was situated up high!

As the light faded and gave way into the evening, the friendly faces of the Madison Fire Dept brought the big fire truck to the ceremony. The firefighters extended the ladders and the children gathered with anticipation as the firefighters crawled out precipitously to the edge of the ladder and began the gelt drop, chocolate coins usually wrapped in gold or silver foil dropped from a high spot. To see the happy faces on a cold Wisconsin winter was a great way to end the night. On top of that, late that night watching the local news I saw the ceremony was covered by our very own channel 15 NBC. I couldn’t see my face since I had the camera in front of my face the whole time pretty much but I recognized those jeans and snow boots anywhere! Ha.