Chanukah related activities ramping up at area synagogues

Chanukah has yet to arrive, but already two area Reform temples are gearing up for could be an impressive time of gift-giving and fun. Congregation Gates of Prayer’s Sisterhood begins its annual Chanukah gift show and bake sale on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. with a special wine and cheese preview in their Manheim Social Hall located at 4000 West Esplanade Avenue in Metairie. The bake sale and show starts in earnest on Sunday morning, December 2, at 9:00 a.m. and continues in the social hall until 1:00 p.m.

Also in Metairie, Shir Chadash Conservative Synagogue, 3737 West Esplanade Avenue, will have a special four-hour sale at its Judaica shop on Sunday begining at 9:30 a.m.

Meanwhile, Temple Sinai, 6227 St. Charles Avenue, will have lots of baked goods with latkes and sweets provided by Israeli chef Alon Shaya of Domenica when it opens its annual Chanukah Bazaar at 9:30 a.m, also on Sunday. Gifts will be available while they last at the temple’s Yvonne Yuspeh Strug Judaica shop . The event will have a festival feel to it with lots of craft vendors selling their wares and games and a host of other activities for the kids. Temple administrator EllenRae Shalett promises sandwiches and hot dogs for the religious school children who attend. The bazaar should run until 1:30 p.m.