Vancouver Hanukkah celebration grows

Esther Short — Nearly 300 people came out for the Chabad Jewish Center of Clark County’s Grand Hanukkah Community Celebration at the Hilton Vancouver Washington in downtown Vancouver to learn about the holiday, eat latkes and help build a large Lego menorah. Attendance at the annual event on the evening of Dec. 9 has improved year after year, organizers say. In 2011, about 200 people took part, said Tzivie Greenberg, the center’s school director. “Every year, it’s grown and grown and grown,” she said, adding that celebrants consumed about 700 latkes Sunday. Nearly 40,000 plastic blocks, weighing 120 pounds, went into the Lego menorah, which was topped with a nine-candle structure and built with guidance from an engineer. The Chabad Jewish Center of Clark County is at 9604 N.E. 126th Ave.