Briefs




 

 

The Shirettes in concert in T.O.

Temple Etz Chaim will host a free community Hanukkah concert featuring the trio The Shirettes at 5 p.m. Sun., Dec. 6 in the temple’s Paskow Sanctuary, 1080 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks.

The music program will include Shirettes’ original songs as well as traditional Hanukkah tunes. The event will also have a menorah lighting and Hanukkah treats.

Sue Epstein, Judy Farber and Ditza Zakay formed The Shirettes in 2001. They have created melodies and harmonies to convey Jewish concepts to children.

Farber is from Agoura Hills and has worked as an early childhood music specialist at Temple Etz Chaim and other sites for more than 22 years.

Zakay started as an early childhood teacher and has brought programming into Jewish schools and synagogues for nearly 30 years. A resident of Oak Park, Zakay gets kids involved with puppets, instruments, stories, dance and song.

Epstein teaches at Adat Ari El in North Hollywood and performs at many temples throughout Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

All three women have experience as recording artists, individually and as a trio.

Their album “Cha Cha Chanukah with the Shirettes” is a 2005 Parent’s Choice Recommended Award winner.

Admission is free but RSVPs are requested. To RSVP, email dena@templeetzchaim.org.


Christmas music and tree lighting

The Elation Arts series will present the Christmas concert “His Light Has Come!” at 5 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13 at Emmanuel Church, 588 Camino Manzanas, Thousand Oaks.

The concert will feature the Emmanuel Christmas Choir, the handbell choir, soloists and band performing a mixture of traditional Christmas classics with new contemporary works.

Selections include “Carol of the Bells,” “Ose Shalom,” “The Hallalujah Chorus” by Handel, “Once in Royal David’s City” and “All Bells in Paradise” by John Rutter.

Special guests include Megan Vincent, contemporary worship leader at Emmanuel; singer Jalin Hsu, who recently returned from a tour with Silversea Cruise Line; and Kris Wittry, tenor soloist for the Towne Singers, a 90-voice community chorus based in La Cañada.

The evening will have a singalong of traditional holiday carols, gospel tunes and contemporary selections by artists and composers such as Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant.

At the conclusion of the concert, the choir will lead the audience onto the front lawn of the church with lit candles for a tree lighting ceremony, carol singing and a message from one of the church pastors.

Refreshments will be served following the tree lighting.

The concert is free and open to the public. A free-will offering will be accepted at the door.

Childcare is offered for ages 4 and under with a reservation. To reserve childcare, call the church office by Fri., Dec. 4.

For more information, call Lance Merrill weekdays at the church office at (805) 498-4502.


Nativities display benefits homeless

No Room at the Inn, a charity group which each year displays hundreds of traditional nativity sets to raise funds for homeless service programs in Ventura County, will celebrate its 23rd anniversary this year.

More than 600 crèches will be on view this weekend at Padre Serra Catholic Church, 5205 Upland Road, Camarillo.

The Grand Opening Gala will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Fri., Dec. 4. In addition to the nativity scenes, a silent auction, light appetizers and entertainment will be provided.

For admission to the gala, a donation of $40 in advance or $45 at the door is requested.

The display continues from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sat., Dec. 5 and from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sun., Dec. 6. The Children’s Corner will have crafts and dressing up as a crèche character.

Weekend admission is a donation of $5 for adults and $1 for children.

All proceeds benefit the homeless shelters of Ventura County. Since the group’s first exhibit in 1993, approximately $400,000 has been raised for the shelters.

For information or to make a gala reservation, visit www.noroom.org or call Kristin at (805) 244-6883.


Hanukkah event at Cal Lutheran

Cal Lutheran University will host its annual Hanukkah celebration from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wed., Dec. 9 in the Lundring Events Center in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center, Olsen Road between Campus Road and Mountclef Boulevard on the Thousand Oaks campus.

The ceremony will have the lighting of the candles on the menorah as well as traditional food and activities.

The community can join faculty, staff and students in this event.

This year Hanukkah takes place from sundown on Dec. 6 through Dec. 14.

Every year, Jewish people worldwide celebrate Hanukkah to commemorate the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabees defeated the army of the Greek ruler Antiochus Epiphanies and won their freedom more than 2,000 years ago.

CLU’s Office of Multicultural Programs and International Student Services and the Hillel Club are sponsoring the free event.

For information, call Daniel Lawrence at (805) 493-3489 or email lawrenc@callutheran.edu.


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