Free Pre-Passover 'Mega Jewish Family Festival' For All At Ridge Hill

YONKERS, NY — As Passover approaches, a one-of-a-kind event in Westchester is bringing food, fun and festivities to the table and at the same time making the season more approachable for everyone in the wider community.

Chabad Synagogues and Centers of Westchester County announced that they are coming together to welcome families of all backgrounds and faiths to the Jewish Family Festival, an event celebrating Jewish life in the leadup to Passover. The free event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Apr. 2, on the South Lawn at Ridge Hill.

The festival is a joint project of the combined Chabad centers of Westchester and the Bronx, a group of organizations that empower Jews of all walks of life to come together to celebrate their heritage.

The eight-day festival of Passover is celebrated this year from sundown on Wednesday, April 5 until after nightfall on Thursday, April 13. Passover commemorates the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and will be celebrated with festive "Seder" dinners on April 5 and 6. Other holiday observances include restricting the consumption of leavened products such as bread and pasta, instead eating unleavened matzah.

In the leadup to what is the most observed Jewish holiday in America, the community is invited to come together. The organizers say that the event’s focus will be on the Year of Hakhel or "Gathering," marked with Jewish gatherings focused on unity, Torah learning and practice.

"As the Jewish community prepares to mark the Festival of our Freedom, we’re looking forward to welcoming the community to join us in celebration," Rabbi Levi Groner, co-director of Chabad of Pelham, said. "Our goal is to lower the barriers to Jewish engagement and ensure everyone feels welcome and included, and has the opportunities and resources they need to celebrate the holiday."

According to organizers, the Jewish Family Festival draws inspiration from the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, who as part of a global Passover campaign that began in 1954, launched the Shmurah Matzah initiative to create awareness and promote observance of the holiday.

Participants will enjoy family fun for all ages with carnival games and interactive activities, Passover-themed arts and crafts, and an electric concert from popular Jewish band "Pumpidisa" as a perfect start to getting into the Passover spirit in a way of inclusion and awareness.

Additional information about the Passover holiday is available here. For more information about the Jewish Family Festival at Chabad of Westchester County, visit their website.