The 27th annual Festival of Trees & Lights was held Friday, November 11 through Sunday, November 13 at Louisville Slugger field. The 2016 festival, presented by Republic Bank and hosted by the Children’s Hospital Foundation, presented Christmas trees, wreaths and other holiday items and a Chanukah section that featured dreidels, chanukiot (Chanukah menorahs) and other items.
The Lights exhibit this year added story reading by PJ Library on Jewish Heritage Day (Sunday, November 13), along with the complimentary donut holes, dreidels and chocolate gelt.
Marianne Zickuhr of CenterStage and Betsy Schwartz, The J’s Senior Director of Camping and Youth Services and PJ Library, had a huge crowd of children listening to Chanukah tales.
The gift shops from Adath Jeshurun Congregation, The Temple and Temple Shalom had a special display of menorahs, dreidels and other Hanukah items. Signage and handouts explained Chanukah, menorahs and dreidels while Chanukah songs filled the air. The display was in a blue draped area and the floors were painted with blue dreidels, menorahs and Jewish stars. The children’s area had a special table just for dreidel games and Chanukah activities.
The proceeds from this year’s Festival of Trees & Lights will benefit the orthopaedic and spine services at Norton Children’s Hospital by providing additional state-of-the-art equipment for treatment of orthopaedic and spine issues, additional specialists who can address a growing demand, and expansion of multidisciplinary clinics to provide patients with a single area in which to see all of their specialists.
Every year, more than 12,500 children in Kentucky and Southern Indiana seek medical attention for injuries and issues for everything from broken bones and sports medicine injuries to hip injuries and neuromuscular function problems like cerebral palsy, to spine and scoliosis issues. Children who suffer from lifelong diseases, disabilities and deformities also need management services.
Honi Marleen Goldman was the chair of the Light’s Committee.
