- Hanukkah celebrations in Kern include a public menorah lighting at the Marketplace on Dec. 29 at 5 p.m. hosted by Chabad of Bakersfield.
- A Kwanzaa event hosted by the Sankofa Collective at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center on Dec. 27 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. celebrates African heritage.
- Christmas festivities include CALM holiday lights, Christmastown, and charitable events like toy drives and Shop with a Cop.
- All events are open to the community and aim to foster inclusivity and celebration of diverse traditions.
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Broadcast transcript:
As we get further into the holiday season, three distinct holidays in Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa all get underway inside the next 3 days. I'm Sam Hoyle, your neighborhood reporter and we wanted to take a look at how members of our Kern community will be celebrating. We want to celebrate with you, starting with Hanukkah at the marketplace.
The Chabad of Bakersfield will be holding a public menorah lighting at the marketplace on Sunday to celebrate, among many things, the miracle of sacred oil that lasted for eight days when the Jewish people only had enough to burn for one day. Rabbi Shmuli Shlanger from the Bakersfield Chabad, said the event is open to everyone who wants to help celebrate the Jewish
holiday.
"We invite the entire community, anyone, any faith, any religion, everyone is invited to come together to enjoy a delicious warm event," said Schlanger.
Switching gears to Kwanzaa, the Sankofa Collective will be holding its annual Kwanzaa celebration at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Bakersfield on Friday afternoon. Bakari Sanyu, director of the event says for the last 30 years, the gathering has been meant to share and honor African heritage.
"I would tell our Bakersfield community at large to come and enjoy an enriching afternoon full of music, dance, and artwork," said Sanyu.
And last but not least, Christmas with several celebrations taking place before the holidays like families reveling in the annual CALM holiday lights or Christmastown, or celebrating in the charitable aspect of the season like the toy drive done by Mothers Against Gang Violence in Bakersfield over the weekend, or the Shafter Police Department holding their shop with a cop event late last week.
And whatever it is that you celebrate, and however you celebrate it, we at 23ABC want to wish you a very, happy holiday season.
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