Jessica Ridgeway, the young ten-year old who was brutally killed in Westminster last month, may have never celebrated Chanukah – the Jewish holiday of lights – but this year people of all faiths and backgrounds are invited to join in a community menorah lighting in Jessica’s memory.

The menorah lighting ceremony is taking place of Sunday December 9^th at 3:30 pm at the Orchard Town Center in Westminster and is being hosted by Chabad of NW Metro Denver, a Jewish organization based in Westminster that has been organizing local public menorah lighting celebrations since 2003.

The free outdoor event will begin with a Chanukah concert by Steve Brodsky and Friends, a five piece band that will play cool contemporary Chanukah music and conclude with the menorah lighting ceremony. Chanukah gifts will be distributed to the kids and the traditional Chanukah fare of latkes and donuts will be served. Inclement weather will not postpone this outdoor event so the public is asked to dress accordingly.

The event will be attended by Westminster city officials and has been planned in coordination with Ms. Sara Ridgeway, who will light the center candle.

Westminster Mayor Nancy McNally is happy that there will be an opportunity to for the Colorado community to remember Jessica.

So many things have happened since that tragic day in October when Jessica went missing we may tend to forget. The menorah lighting is an opportunity for the community to come together and remember Jessica in a fun and positive way”.

Rabbi Benjy Brackman, whose organization Chabad of NW Metro Denver is hosting the event, feels that a menorah lighting ceremony is a positive way to reflect on the tragic event. “We don’t stamp out darkness with a broom but rather by lighting a candle” says the rabbi “and therefore the message of the menorah is for each of us to remember Jessica by becoming a beacon of light to those around you and to society at large”.

This free community event is made possible due to the generosity of the following businesses and organizations: Hyde Park, Safe Systems, Allied Jewish Federation, Arbor Family Medicine, North Park Vision Center, Orchard Town Center and Westminster Total Beverage.

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