Darien To Host Public Menorah Lighting

DARIEN, CT — In a historic first, a local group of Darien residents are organizing a public menorah lighting to celebrate Chanukah.

According to a news release, the community-wide celebration will take place Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. in the Grove Street Plaza.

Lead organizer Dan Guller said this will be a perfect opportunity to highlight Darien’s diversity.

"Our town has never had a public Chanukah celebration," Guller said in a news release, "but I thought it was time to shine a spotlight on Darien’s growing Jewish community, and what better way to shine a spotlight than with actual light?"

Guller said the 6-foot electric menorah will be lit nightly at 6 p.m. from Nov. 28 through Dec. 5.

"Each night at 6 p.m. we have a different group of Jewish families from Darien scheduled to light the menorah," Guller said, "but the big celebration will be on Dec. 1."

That evening will be led by the clergy of Temple Shalom in Norwalk, who will also bring gifts for the children attending. The United Jewish Federation will be on hand with gift bags and story time for the kids, according to event officials.

Attendees are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy for donation to the Open Door Shelter of Norwalk.

Guller said the event would not have been possible without the generosity of David Genovese and his team at Baywater Properties, as well as PG Properties. He also noted the group has received commitments from local business leaders, elected officials and religious leaders to attend the event.