Missoula’s Outdoor Menorah Lighting Happens This Weekend

There has been a lot of talk lately about annual holiday traditions and how they are, in many cases, different this year. Normally, I'd fly home to New York to be with my family and see my friends, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards. Normally, there'd be a huge Christmas tree lighting in Missoula, but instead, the lighting was spread out over ten consecutive nights. Normally, thousands would gather for the Missoula Parade of Lights, but instead, this year they held a "Reverse Parade of Lights" that people could drive through.

We're all getting used to a new normal this holiday season, but it looks like the annual Missoula Chanukah celebration is going to go on as planned. This Sunday, December 13th, the lighting of the giant menorah will take place at the Missoula County Fairgrounds, in a huge outdoor space that they say is perfect for social distancing.

Here's a little bit of info from their website:

The annual city wide Chanukah celebration has become a Missoula tradition. All are welcome to celebrate Chanukah with family, friends, and community. The Giant Menorah Lighting will take place in the Historic Plaza of the Missoula Fairgrounds. There is a huge outdoor space to accommodate social distancing.

Enjoy festive music, prepackaged doughnuts, and great Chanukah spirit!

If you plan to go, you'll have to RSVP ahead of time (which is totally free, don't worry). And you can find out all the info you need from their Facebook event page. Will you be checking this out?