Around the Area

Vancouver

Celebration features menorah lighting

The main attraction of this year’s community Hanukkah celebration will be a giant dreidel house — big enough to walk into and have pictures taken.

The annual Jewish festival will also feature a grand menorah lighting. It’s set for 4 p.m. Dec. 21 at Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver.

Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard and State Sen. Joseph Zarelli will give greetings and help light the Hanukkah menorah.

Afterwards, there will be Hanukkah festivities inside the Hilton Vancouver Washington. Traditional Hanukkah foods (hot latkes and doughnuts) will be served, and you’ll be able to fill and decorate your own doughnut. There will also be a multimedia presentation and a grand dreidel tournament.

Vancouver

Lower-cost day camp available during break

Parents looking for child care during winter break may enroll their children in the Winter Day Camps at the Jim Parsley Community Center, 4100 Plomondon St., Vancouver. Camp runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the following days: Dec. 22, Dec. 23, Dec. 29, Dec. 30, Dec. 31 and Jan. 2.

Students from any district or school, ages 6 through 13, may attend. Cost is $20 per child; $15 per additional children in a family. Morning snack, lunch and supplies are provided.

Registration forms are available at vansd.org or call 313-1060 for more information.

North Bonneville

Holiday season features walking tours of dam

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will offer guided tours of the interior of Bonneville Dam during the holiday season from the visitor center on the Washington side.

Guided walks will occur at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 20, 24, 26, 27 and 31; as well as Jan. 2 and 3. The tour will include an overview of the dam’s history, operations, power generation and fish passage, along with a walk across two generators to see the shaft that connects the turbine to the generator.

The Washington Shore Visitor Center is located at Milepost 39 on state Highway 14.