Twenty one New York Chabad Houses joined together to host a COVID safe Chanukah drive-in concert and celebration. Over 2,500 participants showed up, and thousands more watched the celebrations online.
By Anash.org reporter
Photos: Yisroel Teitelbaum
21 Chabad Houses, 500 cars, and 2,500 participants are some of the numbers coming out of Sunday night’s grand Chanukah drive-in concert and celebration.
The program was the brainchild of a number of New York shluchim, who realized that the regular Chanukah events would not be able to happen this year, due to the pandemic. Instead, they decided to make an event that would be both safe and engaging.
After juggling various ideas, the shluchim decided to work together and create a mega drive-in event that would allow for social distancing while still enabling participants to show up in person.
The shluchim turned to the indefatigable Mendel Mintz, who got right to work arranging the concert with singer Eli Marcus and the Pumpidisa Band, finding a venue, and making sure the program would run smoothly, down to the last detail.
On Sunday night, the fourth night of Chanukah, the event finally commenced, with over 500 cars, containing over 2,500 participants, showing up in person, and thousands more watching online.
A rich program left every participant uplifted, inspired, with a special takeaway message of turning every single participant into an ambassador/shliach on their own right, handing them a Menorah to distribute to someone in their life who otherwise doesn’t have one.
Participating Mosdos:
Lubavitch Youth Organization
Chabad Canarsie & Starrett City
Chabad Central Brooklyn
Chabad Heights
Chabad Lubavitch of Flatbush
Chabad Neshama
Chabad of Bay Ridge
Chabad of Bensonhurst
Chabad of Brooklyn Heights
Chabad of Coney Island
Chabad of Georgetown
Chabad of Kings Highway
Chabad of Kingsborough
Chabad of Marine Park
Chabad of Midwood
Chabad of Sea-Gate
Chabad of Sheepshead Bay
Chabad of SUNY Downstate
F.R E.E. of Brighton Beach
Jewish South Brooklyn
Mill Basin Jewish Center
Produced by Mendel Mintz
Discussion
We appreciate your feedback. If you have any additional information to contribute to this article, it will be added below.